Bobcat fire grows to 29,245 acres

Fire crews Saturday continued their efforts to further contain the Bobcat fire, during its seventh day, in the San Gabriel Mountains above Monrovia.

After working to contain the southern and northern edges of the fire, forest officials announced by morning the blaze had grown to 29,245 acres, a nearly 3,000-acre increase over Friday.

Through early evening the blaze remained at 6% containment as it continued to chew through steep terrain and dry fuels, some of which haven’t burned in the last 60 years, officials said.

Additional resources were added to the fight the fire entering as now 765 personnel were on hand Saturday. The cause of the fire, which began Sept. 6, was still under investigation.

On the north side of the fire, crews were working to keep the fire south of Highway 2 and west of Highway 39.

Forest officials said crews have received some relief on the east and west edges of the fire as it continues to travel toward previous burn scars.

Overnight, fire crews worked to get a foothold in the southern end of the fire, which crossed over into the northern tip of Monrovia’s city limits Friday afternoon, but did not threaten any structures.

Smoke helped in keeping temperatures down, lessening the intensity of the fire Friday, but it also led to low visibility overnight and made it difficult for helicopters to help in the firefight.

A smoke advisory, first issued by the South Coast Air Quality Management District Thursday, was extended to today.

Evacuation warnings remained in effect for Monrovia, Arcadia, Bradbury, Sierra Madre, Altadena, Duarte and Pasadena, and officials warned residents to be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice.

An evacuation order was issued for Camp Williams.

Highway 2 remained closed from Upper Big Tujunga Canyon Road to Big Pines and Highway 39 was closed at Old San Gabriel Road.