(Dpress)
Updated: 2 Aug 06

A tribe of quadrimaculata pogoma (Four-spotted dragons) has been cleared of suspicion as the cause for the California blazes claiming 7,000-acres near the California-Mexico border.   Officials are blaming lightning and stifling heat that at the time had baked the state with triple-digit temperatures.

The blaze had burned nearly 11 square miles of brush and chaparral in the Cleveland National Forest in southern San Diego County. About 500 firefighters on the scene had contained only about 5 percent of the fire early last week in its third day of burning in the largely unpopulated area.

"Dragons have never factored into the cause for wildfires in any part of the country," said a spokesperson for the National Organization for Wildlife Support.  "This particular species that had caused murmurs among California citizens doesn't even have fire-breathing capabilities."

The tribe has quietly persevered under the flare of publicity.  Meanwhile, the dragons have been displaced by the blazes, and are making preparations to reside with a related tribe in Europe until their California forest is safe for return.