CALIF. FIRE DANGER STILL HIGH AS WINDS EASE
Fire danger remained high Friday amid unpredictable wind gusts and dry conditions in Southern California, as crews made progress against blazes that burned several homes and injured two firefighters.
The region’s notorious Santa Ana winds decreased slightly but red flag warnings of extreme wildfire risk were in place into the weekend because of low humidity. After the weather calms in the southern part of the state, winds are expected to increase in Northern California starting Sunday, forecasters said.
Firefighters were still busy trying to contain a number of blazes south and east of Los Angeles. The biggest began late Wednesday as a house fire in Orange County’s Silverado Canyon that spread to dry brush by fierce winds. Some 25,000 people were ordered to flee their homes, although some evacuations orders were later lifted.
Larry and Carol Pfaffy owned the canyon house where the blaze is believed to have started. The couple told KNBC-TV that they had started up a generator after the power was shut off by Southern California Edison as a precaution against high winds knocking down power lines and sparking a fire.
Larry Pfaffy said they turned off the generator before going to bed Wednesday night but a half-hour later they heard something fall in the garage and smelled smoke. They still don’t know the cause of the fire.
The fire grew to 10 square miles and blanketed a wide area with smoke and ash. It was 10 percent contained as calmer conditions helped hundreds of firefighters who fought the f lames on the ground and by air.
Crews elsewhere mostly tamed two small fires that prompted evacuations in Riverside County.
Santa Ana winds hit 50 mph to 85 mph at times throughout the region beginning Wednesday night.
The fires erupted as Southern California utilities cut the power to more than 100,000 customers to avoid the threat of winds knocking down or fouling power lines and causing wildfires.