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Many firefighters are exhausted after battling blazes for two weeks Crews battling wildfires in California have made some progress containing the two biggest fires near the towns of Goleta and Big Sur, officials said. Firefighters in the Goleta area are now working on preventing the flames from reaching nearby Santa Barbara. Crews further up the coast at Big Sur have so far defended the scenic town, helped by cool, moist weather. In the past two weeks, hundreds of fires, most started by lightning, have burnt 820 sq miles (2,100 sq km). The blazes have destroyed 67 houses or other buildings and contributed to the death of one firefighter who had a heart attack while building a fire-break. About 20,000 people, many of them volunteers, have been fighting the fires. "The firefighters are stretched thin, they are exhausted," said... [read full story]
