Those under mandatory evacuation live east of Serrano Road and south of Canyon Rim Road. Residents under voluntary evacuation order reside from Canyon Rim Road north to Oak Canyon Drive, all east of Serrano, Nicoletti said.

Residents who left their homes were directed to Villa Park High School and Travis Ranch Community Center in Yorba Linda, where the American Red Cross established shelters, Nicoletti said.

People who needed to relocate horses were told to take them to the south parking lot at Yorba Regional Park, he said.

"There are no reports of fire west of the 241 (Eastern Transportation Corridor)," Nicoletti said about 1:30 p.m. "None of the homes are being threatened. The reason is based on the potential of winds kicking up."

Students at three schools were relocated because of smoke from the fast-moving brush blaze, which broke out on a day when weather forecasters issued a Red Flag Alert due to high fire danger. Students from Canyon Rim Elementary, Santiago Charter Middle School and Anaheim Hills Elementary were sent to Canyon Hills High School, a school spokeswoman said.

Firefighters were battling to ensure that the flames did not jump west of the (241), which they hoped would continue to act as a barrier to protect homes in Anaheim Hills and Orange Hills, said Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Stephen Miller.

Flying embers started two small spot fires across the highway, about a half-mile from the closest homes, which sparked the evacuation order, Miller said.

The blaze broke out before dawn in a mountainous area between Orange and Riverside counties near Sierra Peak, Miller said.

Miller said he did not know if there were power lines in the area, which is remote. He had no information as to how the fire started.

Firefighters carried out an aerial assault on the blaze using water-dropping helicopters, working from a command post established at Irvine Regional Park. There was no immediate word on containment, Miller said, adding that "once we get a helicopter freed we'll map" the fire.

As a precaution, officials closed the 241 toll road between Santiago Canyon Road and the Riverside (91) Freeway, said California Highway Patrol Officer Denise Quesada.

Fighting the blaze along with personnel from the OCFA were federal and state firefighters. Because of a Red Flag Warning in the Southland, many firefighters were pre-deployed in various areas. About 500 firefighters were at the scene Monday evening, officials said.

The 460,000-acre Cleveland National Forest is the southernmost national forest in the state.

Health Warning

The County of Orange Health Care Agency warned late this morning that smoke from the wildfires posed a public health danger.

"Among those who can be most directly affected by smoke exposure are individuals with heart and respiratory diseases, older adults, children and pregnant women," said Acting County Health Officer Hildy Meyers.

People in areas downwind from the smoke were urged to limit outdoor activity and physical exertion until the smoke diminishes; keep windows and doors closed; and use air conditioning.

People should call a doctor if experiencing symptoms of chest pain, chest tightness, shortness of breath or severe fatigue, according to Meyers.

Red Flag Warning

The strong winds whipping across the Southland Monday come with unusually high temperatures and low humidity, and that has prompted a National Weather Service Red Flag Warning, signifying a high risk of wildfire.

Severe Weather Alerts

The warning went into effect at 6 a.m. Monday and was scheduled to expire at 6 p.m. in the valleys of Los Angeles County and at 6 p.m. Wednesday in mountain areas.

National Weather Service meteorologists are forecasting winds of between 20 and 30 mph, gusting up to more than 40 mph, in the San Fernando, San Gabriel and Santa Clarita valleys and even higher in the mountains.

Temperatures will climb to near-record levels and may set record highs in some areas, according to forecasters. Standing records for Feb. 6 include 86 in downtown Los Angeles and Burbank and 87 in Pasadena, according to the NWS.

The observatory issued a Code Red warning, the highest level of alert, for the volcano, because the ash cloud was near a level where it could interfere with jet traffic, said Chris Waythomas, a U.S. Geological Survey geologist.

There were no reports of falling ash from the highly active volcano located in the rugged chain of Aleutian Islands. The nearest community is Nikolski, a tiny Aleut village of 31 people that is 45 miles to the east of the volcano.

Its last eruptive period was in 2001 when three explosions occurred, according to the observatory.

Cleveland Volcano rumbled to life as officials continued to monitor the restless Augustine Volcano, a 4,134-foot (1,260 meter) peak about 175 miles southwest of Anchorage.

Augustine has had several explosive eruptions since January 11 but scientists warned against drawing conclusions about a trend.

"We have 42 active volcanoes in Alaska," Waythomas said. "It shouldn't be a surprise that two are active at the same time."

Cleveland, on an uninhabited island in the rugged Aleutian chain, is a highly active volcano, according to the observatory.

Experts at the Kamchatka experimental bureau of seismic methodology said the earthquake was registered at 08:51 Moscow time [05:51 GMT] Monday. Its epicenter was located at the depth of five kilometers under the seabed.

The power of quakes felt in the nearest town of Ust-Kamchatsk, 90 kilometers away from the place, did not exceed 2 points or 3 points on the Richter scale.

No tremors were felt in the regional capital Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky lying at a distance of 500 kilometers to the northeast of the place.

Despite the quake, the regional administration has lifted high-alert regulations introduced last August on apprehensions that a major earthquake might be forthcoming.

Emergency services have returned into a normal mode of operations now, since experts do not expect quakes with a magnitude of 7.5 or more points on the Richter scale.

"I know we had a little disappointment earlier with some signals we're getting from Washington but the international community may be able to fill the gap," Nagin said when a delegation of French government and business officials passed through on Friday to explore potential business partnerships.

Jordan's King Abdullah also visited New Orleans on Friday and Nagin said he would encourage foreign interests to help redevelop some of the areas hardest hit by the storm.

"France can take Treme. The king of Jordan can take the Lower Ninth Ward," he said, referring to two of the city's neighborhoods.

Katrina flooded 80 percent of the city and killed more than 1,300 people in Louisiana and Mississippi.

The Bush administration has pledged billions of dollars to Katrina victims but five months after the storm, New Orleans remains largely in ruins.

Nagin said his message to President George W. Bush would be that the federal government needs to refocus on the devastated area.

"We need your undivided attention over the next six months," he said. "We need backup. We need for you to make the words that you spoke in Jackson Square a reality."

Nagin was referring to the president's September 15 address to the nation from New Orleans, in which he pledged "we will do what it takes, we will stay as long as it takes" to rebuild.

French Transport Minister Dominique Perben, leading the French delegation to a city that was founded by France in 1718, said, "This catastrophe has deeply upset the French people and the French government."

France, Perben said through a translator, "wants to be a long-term partner for Louisiana and New Orleans."

Khabibullo Abdusamatov of the Pulkovo Astronomic Observatory in St. Petersburg said Monday that temperatures will begin falling six or seven years from now, when global warming caused by increased solar activity in the 20th century reaches its peak, RIA Novosti reported.

The coldest period will occur 15 to 20 years after a major solar output decline between 2035 and 2045, Abdusamatov said.

Dramatic changes in the earth's surface temperatures are an ordinary phenomenon, not an anomaly, he said, and result from variations in the sun's energy output and ultraviolet radiation.

The Northern Hemisphere's most recent cool-down period occurred between 1645 and 1705. The resulting period, known as the Little Ice Age, left canals in the Netherlands frozen solid and forced people in Greenland to abandon their houses to glaciers, the scientist said.

"Rafikque, who was the ship's cook, fell ill on February 4, according to reports from the crew," the ministry said.

"He died in a medical emergency vehicle on Monday," it said in a statement.

The Liberian-flagged Ocean Wing came to Lithuania from Germany on January 17 to undergo repairs, the health ministry said.

Although the health ministry said earlier that a preliminary autopsy would be conducted in the port on Lithuania's western Baltic coastline, it later said the ship's captain, also Indian, has "not given permission for an autopsy, on religious grounds."

Doctor's at Klaipeda morgue, where the body of the 62-year-old sailor was being held, told AFP that no autopsy has been ordered or carried out.

Kazimieras Lukauskas, head of Lithuania's state veterinary and food service, said that raw poultry was among foods that were loaded onto the ship in Germany, but played down the possibility that it was the cause of the sailor's death.

"We do not think that poultry used for food on the ship could be the cause of death" Lukauskas said.

A special emergency team has been sent to Klaipeda to disinfect the ship, which had 30 crew -- 29 Indians and one Ukrainian -- on board, he said.

"Our emergency plan provides for crew members to undergo medical examinations," Lukauskas said.