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TheAssociatedPress PLYMOUTH A private drone trying to record foot- age of a Northern Califor- nia wildfire nearly hindered efforts to attack the flames from the air, but firefight- ers made enough progress to allow some of the 1,200 people under evacuation or- ders to return home Mon- day. An unmanned aircraft that aimed to get video of the blaze burning near vineyards in the Sierra Ne- vada foothills east of Sacra- mento was sighted Sunday, two days after the fire broke out, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protec- tion spokeswoman Lynne Tolmachoff said. Authorities told the man controlling the drone to stop it from flying be- cause of the potential dan- ger to firefighting planes. The man, whom Tolma- choff did not identify, was not cited. "This is the first one that I'm aware of," she said. "These unmanned aircraft are becoming very popular with people, and there's a possibility we will see more of them." Crews held the fire to a little under 6 square miles overnight, increasing con- tainment to 65 percent, state fire Battalion Chief Scott McLean said. Some of the evacuations were lifted Monday morning, but McLean did not immedi- ately know how many peo- ple were allowed to return to their homes. "We're still very cau- tious," he said. "We're not going to get complacent, but it's looking very good." The Sierra foothills fire is one of two in Califor- nia that has forced people from their homes, under- scoring the state's height- ened fire danger this year after three years of drought created tinder- dry conditions. The other fire about 100 miles away had burned through a little more than 4 square miles of brush and trees in Yosemite National Park, the neighboring Stan- islaus National Forest and private land as of Monday morning and was send- ing smoke into Yosemite's famed valley. It grew by about 500 acres overnight and was 5 percent contained, with a relentless air attack limit- ing its spread, park spokes- man Scott Gediman said. The park itself — home to such sites as Half Dome mountain, Yosemite Mead- ows, a grove of Giant Se- quoia trees and other won- ders — remained open, and none of its treasures was threatened. But park offi- cials warned hikers with respiratory problems to be careful because of the smoky air. "It certainly grew, but it's still within approximately the same footprint and is not spreading rapidly," Ged- iman said. An estimated 100 homes in Foresta and the small community of Old El Por- tal remained under evacu- ation. One home has been destroyed and two shelters have opened for people and animals. Both fires took off quickly after they began, with tri- ple digit temperatures and steep terrain hampering the firefight. The Sierra foothills fire has destroyed 13 homes and 38 other structures near wine-growing regions in Amador and El Dorado counties, as it burns in rug- ged grassland and timber. It started Friday when a vehicle drove over vege- tation. In addition to the homes and cabins, it has destroyed a collection of 13 antique cars that a man was restoring in the town of Plymouth, the Sacramento Bee reported. NORTHERN CALIFORNIA Dr one a lm os t bl oc ks firefighting planes THESACRAMENTOBEE,RANDYPENCH—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS A city of Folsom firefighter moves through burned trees and ash not far from the origin of the Sand Fire in Amador County on Sunday in Plymouth. The Associated Press LOS ANGELES Los Ange- les' popular Venice Beach teemed with people enjoy- ing a weekend outing on the boardwalk and sand when lifeguards and other wit- nesses say lightning from a rare summer thunderstorm hit without warning, injur- ing or rattling more than a dozen people and leaving a 21-year-old man dead. The witnesses said the strike hit with a tremen- dous boom about 2:30 p.m. Sunday, rattling buildings and showering a lifeguard headquarters with sparks. "The first knowledge they had was when the lightning hit," Capt. Danny Douglas of the Venice lifeguard sta- tion said Monday. The 21-year-old was rushed unresponsive to a hospital after the strike and later died. Coroner's Assis- tant Chief Ed Winter iden- tified him as Nick Fagnano of Los Angeles. Some wit- nesses said Fagnano had been in the water when the lightning hit, but authori- ties couldn't confirm that. The lightning came as some 30,000 people were enjoying a day at the city's funky bohemian beach noted for its jugglers, skat- ers, medical marijuana dealers and boardwalk preachers and hucksters. Swimmers cooling off on a muggy day, volleyball players on the sand and people strolling the famous boardwalk were jolted. Twelve other people, in- cluding a 15-year-old boy, were examined after they felt the effects of the light- ning, ranging from anxi- ety to a man who needed CPR. However, not all were necessarily actually struck by lightning, said Kather- ine Main, a city fire spokes- woman. Nine were taken to hos- pitals, where one was listed in critical condition. Most of the others were mainly shaken up and expected to recover, fire officials said. Lightning also struck a 57-year-old man on a golf course on Santa Catalina Is- land, the picturesque Chan- nel Island 26 miles off the coast of Los Angeles that has been celebrated in story and song. He was listed in stable condition and further information on him was not available Monday. Stuart Acher said he was shocked while playing vol- leyball on the beach. "We went about our game andthenallofasudden,there was a big flash of light and a boom, and it felt like some- one punched me in the back of my head," he told KABC- TV. "It went down my whole side ofmyright body,and my calves sort of locked up, and I fell over. And I looked up and everybody else was, you know, falling over." Paramedics examined Acher but he felt all right and went back to playing volleyball. Steve Christensen said his friend had been body- surfing and was sitting on the beach when lifeguards began searching for a miss- ing swimmer. "He (Christensen's friend) went out to the wa- ter to find him and walked right into him," Christensen said. "He was face down on the bottom." Christensen said his friend pulled the man, who appeared to be in his 20s, from the water, and life- guards began CPR before taking him away. LOS ANGELES Witnesses: Lightning hit beach without warning STEVE CHRISTIANSON — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Lifeguards assist a person who was in the water and apparently struck by lightning Sunday in Los Angeles. REBECCA BLACKWELL — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS California Gov. Jerry Brown, le , and Mexico's Secretary of Foreign Affairs Jose Antonio Meade answer questions from journalists during a joint press conference in Mexico City on Monday. By Mark Stevenson The Associated Press MEXICO CITY California Gov. Jerry Brown took a not-so-subtle dig at Texas' decision to deploy National Guard troops to the bor- der, saying Monday he ex- pects it to be a short-lived measure and that "wiser minds will prevail." Brown is in Mexico for three days of meetings, fo- cusing on migration, trade, investment and environ- mental cooperation. At a news conference with Mexican Foreign Re- lations Secretary Jose An- tonio Meade, Brown said the immigration over- load of thousands of Cen- tral American youths at the border should be seen as a humanitarian issue. The U.S. is coping with a dramatic increase in the number of unaccompa- nied children attempting to cross the border, com- ing mainly from Hondu- ras, Guatemala and El Sal- vador. Meade said he and Brown agree that the use of law-enforcement or mil- itary agencies "is never jus- tified in cases where chil- dren are concerned" un- less they are providing medical or logistical aid. Texas Gov. Rick Perry announced a decision last week to deploy up to 1,000 National Guard troops to the Texas-Mexico bor- der over the next month to combat what he said were criminals exploiting a surge of children pour- ing into the U.S. illegally. Asked about that, Brown said: "I hesitate to com- ment on the thinking that goes into the sending of the Texas National Guard to the border. I would sus- pect that it would be of relatively short duration and that wiser minds will prevail in the next several months." Brown acknowledged the immigration surge has become politicized, and said "my goal is to try as much as I can to frame the issue of the children as a humanitarian challenge. That should appeal to peo- ple of all political persua- sions." California Attorney General Kamala Harris said Thursday she is help- ing secure lawyers to rep- resent minors during im- migration hearings. Brown takes dig at Texas guard plan CALIFORNIA-MEXICO By Julie Watson The Associated Press SAN DIEGO California civil rights organizations filed a complaint Monday with the Justice Depart- ment asking for a federal investigation into the use of pepper spray in San Di- ego County's juvenile de- tention facilities. Pepper spray use is ram- pant against youth offend- ers, including those at risk of suicide or self-harm, ac- cording to the complaint jointly filed by San Fran- cisco-based Youth Law Center, California Rural Legal Assistance Inc. and a San Diego-area coalition of community organizations, including the San Diego La Raza Lawyers Association. Officials also have used pepper spray against youth who failed to follow verbal instructions and on mi- nors with sensitive medi- cal conditions, according to the complaint. Justice Department and county officials could not be immediately reached for comment. Youth Law Center attor- ney Sue Burrell said the complaint is needed be- cause San Diego County Probation is out of touch with national standards. "This is a county that professes to be interested in positive youth devel- opment and trauma-in- formed care, but they are spraying young people as though they were ants," she said in a statement. Youth Law Center said incident reports for 2012 and 2013 showed pepper spray was being used rou- tinely on suicide watch. The center's attorneys said they met last year with San Diego County Pro- bation Department staff about their concerns and were told authorities were using pepper spray when necessary. The complaint alleges other questionable prac- tices such as suicidal youth having their clothing phys- ically cut off, and then be- ing put in confinement; juveniles being restrained in wrist chains, handcuffs and leg irons and left alone in their rooms; and those in confinement receiving only minimal educational services in their cells. JUSTICE Groups seek probe into use of pepper spray RUNNINGS ROOFING SheetMetalRoofing ResidentialCommercial • Composition • Shingle • Single Ply Membrane Ownerisonsiteoneveryjob ServingTehamaCounty 530-527-5789 530-209-5367 NoMoney Down! "NoJobTooSteep" " No Job Too Flat" FREE ESTIMATES CA. 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