Mid-Atlantic fires force evacuations, outages

(AP) WASHINGTON – Firefighters have contained several blazes in the mid-Atlantic region that forced evacuations, knocked out power and prompted an advisory for some residents to boil their water, officials said Sunday.

No deaths have been reported, though at least four firefighters were treated for minor injuries. Several homes, businesses and other structures in the Washington region were damaged.

Strong winds and dry conditions made the blazes tough to extinguish, with firefighters still working to put out some hotspots Sunday morning.

Six fires in Virginia's Prince William County scorched about 300 acres and led officials to evacuate 60 people from homes. The worst fire was in a neighborhood where a tree had been blown over onto a power line. Some were still without power in the area, though that should be restored Sunday, county officials said in a press release.

Crews used so much water that water pressure fell to dangerous levels, leading officials to issue a boil-water advisory that was still in effect Sunday morning. All the fires in Prince William County were under control by Sunday.

In Maryland's Prince George's County, more than 600 acres burned. Interstate 95 was temporarily shut down in Laurel, Md., when a fire jumped into the highway's median. Officials in Virginia also shut down I-95 for a time Saturday when smoke reduced visibility.

Prince George's fire crews were still working to completely contain two fires. One destroyed 250 acres, 2 homes and several other abandoned homes in Clinton. The other was at a mulch plant in Laurel, where 300 acres burned as winds pushed the flames from pile to pile of mulch.

The high winds, with gusts reaching 55 mph in some areas Saturday, posed problems across the region.

In Washington, strong winds toppled the National Christmas Tree, a Colorado blue spruce that had stood on the Ellipse just south of the White House since 1978. The tree was turned into mulch Saturday afternoon, and a replacement tree has been chosen and will be planted sometime in the spring, said Bill Line, a spokesman for the National Park Service.

No Alcohol For 6-Pack Salman

Salman Khan is an Indian film actor.Salam is sexest actor of the indian film industry and world world. No Alcohol For 6-Pack Salman body. He has appeared in more than 80 Hindi films.

Salman Khan has decided to stay off alcohol till he completes the shooting of his brother-in-law Atul Agnihotri's My Love Story, which is a remake of the Malayalam film Bodyguard.

The role will require him to have his six-pack. This will take ten months. Let's see if Salman who enjoys his Bacardis with coca colas and entertaining his friends at Galaxy Apartments sticks to his word.

But buzz is that for the past 22 days Sallu has not been in his cups.

Salman had put on a lot of weight for Dabangg, which required him to play a 45-year-old corrupt cop. That weight hadn't been lost until recently.

There was no other way but to cut down on the booze. So obviously, the bacchanalian excesses at Galaxy apartments are now going to be put on hold until My Love Story is over.

Says a source, "Yes, Salman loves to drink, but he has now become very conscious after the stupendous success of Dabangg and Bigg Boss 4."

Adds the source, "Abstaining from alcohol is not difficult for Salman. He has done this in the past.

In fact every year, he goes off hard drinks during the holy month of Ramzan and Ganesh Chaturthi festival."

Salman is also very particular about his diet these days. "If he wants to get the six-pack in quick time, then an only no-alcohol policy will not help.

He is completely off carbohydrates as well," reveals the source.

Source: The Times Of India