Spread of Bobcat fire slows sharply
Fire officials announced continued success in the f ight against the massive Bobcat f ire Thursday, with U. S. Forest Service officials reporting the blaze was 50% contained.
“Progress continues to be made on containment,” the Forest Service said in a tweet Thursday morning. “Fire activity has moderated and only 253 acres were added overnight, for a total of 113,986.”
Containment estimates for the destructive f ire are holding steady at Sept. 30, one month earlier than initially projected. Fire crews attribute that to cooperative weather and the successful placement of containment lines around much of the blaze’s vast perimeter.
“A lot of it came down to doing tactical f iring and securing lines,” said Forest Service spokesman Larry Smith, adding that “hard work, a lot of f iring operations, positive winds and higher relative humidity” also played a role in getting a foothold on the fire.
Smith also said the f ire’s transition from the Angeles National Forest — full of dry vegetation that hasn’t burned in many decades — into the low- lying desert terrain of Juniper Hills and the Antelope Valley helped slow the spread of the f lames.
“It’s not as receptive for spot fires,” he said, “and it’s a lot easier to get mechanical equipment out there.”
Evacuation orders are beginning to be lifted as well: Residents in the following areas can now return home: North of East Avenue W- 14, south of Pearblossom Highway, east of 155th Street East, west of 165th Street East.
North of Big Pine Highway and Highway 2, south of 138th Street East, east of Largo Vista Road, west of 263rd Street. North of Fort Tejon Road, south of East Avenue V, east of 87th Street East, west of 121st Street East. East Fork areas: Julius Klein Conservation Camp
19, Camp Williams and the River community.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department says it will lift more orders and notices once f ire officials give “the OK that there is no f ire risk to anyone’s safety.”
Evacuation orders remain in place for several communities in the Angeles National Forest and the foothills north of the blaze. Evacuation warnings have been lifted in Altadena and Pasadena, but remain for some areas. The Red Cross shelter at Palmdale High School has also closed.
The cause of the f ire remains under investigation, although officials are looking into Southern California Edison utility equipment around Cogswell Dam that experienced an incident minutes before the reported ignition of the fire nearby.
The Bobcat f ire has destroyed nearly 50 structures, more than two dozen of them homes.