(Lake Arrowhead-AP) -- The head of the US Forest Service says the deadly Southern California wildfires have created threats to drinking water supplies and to the already endangered California condor.
Biologists and government officials converged on Lake Arrowhead today to tell a House subcommittee about efforts to restore and protect forests and communities.
US Forest Service chief Dale Bosworth said in a prepared statement about nine million dollars has been approved to rehabilitate burn areas in the Angeles, Cleveland, Los Padres and San Bernardino national forests.
Helicopters and ground crews are spreading thousands of tons of rice straw, hoping to beat the winter rains and reduce the threat of runoff into lakes used for drinking water. Recent light rains helped nurture new plants, but heavier rains could cause problems.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
