A wildfire that has burned 375 square miles in Los Padres National Forest in central California was fully contained Sunday evening, officials said. It was ignited by sparks from equipment used to repair a water pipe July 4.
“It’s quite a relief for everybody here,” Forest Service spokesman Victor Gutierrez said.
Firefighting costs have topped $117 million, but only an outbuilding was destroyed.
In central Idaho, 19 helicopters were fighting a fire that threatened a ski resort on Bald Mountain. Authorities were expecting full containment today. It has scorched about 75 square miles since lightning started it Aug. 16.
In Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, a lightning-sparked wildfire that has burned more than 28 square miles was 95 percent contained Sunday, officials said.
Additional nation/world news briefs:
VIENNA
Italy’s athletes benefit from heart screening
Cardiac problems such as an abnormal heartbeat are exacerbated by rigorous exercise and can be fatal in athletes, but regular testing could save lives, doctors at a heart conference said Sunday.
Italy is the only country that mandates heart screening of all its pro athletes, Dr. Domenico Corrado of the University of Padua told the European Society for Cardiology in Vienna. Sudden, fatal heart attacks dropped from four cases per 100,000 since testing began in 1981 to 0.4 cases per 100,000.
Without testing, athletes genetically predisposed to having an irregular heartbeat might not be aware of their condition until it’s too late, doctors said.
CARACAS, Venezuela
Chavez hopes to stay president for decades
President Hugo Chavez said Sunday he could continue governing until 2027 if voters do away with re-election limits because he needs more time in office to establish a socialist economic model in Venezuela.
He has previously said he could stay on as president until 2021 if his proposed constitutional reforms – which among other changes would eliminate presidential term limits, letting him run as many more times as he wants – are approved.
Opponents have accused Chavez of seeking to stay in power for decades like his friend Fidel Castro of Cuba.
MEXICO CITY
Mexico lives in U.S., its president says
President Felipe Calderon blasted U.S. immigration policies Sunday and promised to fight harder to protect the rights of Mexicans in the U.S., saying, “Mexico does not end at its borders.”
The criticism earned Calderon a standing ovation during his first state-of-the nation address.
“We strongly protest the unilateral measures taken by the U.S. Congress and government that have only persecuted and exacerbated the mistreatment of Mexican undocumented workers,” he said. “The insensitivity toward those who support the U.S. economy and society has only served as an impetus to reinforce the battle … for their rights.”
He also reached out to the millions of Mexicans living in the U.S., many illegally, saying: “Where there is a Mexican, there is Mexico.”
ATHENS, Greece
Last big fire finally called under control
The last major fire in southern Greece has been brought under control after flaring up again over the weekend, fire officials said Sunday. Officials also said two other big fires were completely extinguished.
Fires have destroyed an estimated 469,000 acres of mostly forest and farmland over the past 10 days. The death toll rose to 65 Sunday.
