L.A. County fire grows amid heat and gusty winds
LOS ANGELES — A brush fire in the Verdugo Mountains north of downtown Los Angeles has burned more than 5,000 acres, making it one of the largest fires in the city’s history and one that officials warn could grow larger if erratic weather continues.
Hundreds of firefighters battled the fire overnight and into Saturday, and at one point flames spread in four directions in intense heat and wild winds. Two homes have burned, but no injuries were reported, officials said. The blaze prompted evacuation orders for more than 700 homes in Los Angeles, Burbank and Glendale.
In Northern California, a fire burning near Yosemite National Park has entered a 2,700year-old grove of giant sequoias. State fire officials said the blaze entered the Nelder Grove late Friday. It was not known Saturday if any of the trees were lost.
And in Butte County, the Ponderosa Fire had destroyed 32 homes and scorched 3,880 acres of terrain by Saturday night. It was 51 percent contained.
Firefighters in Los Angeles County faced another day of triple-digit temperatures as a heat wave that has gripped the state continues. The National Weather Service said hillside areas could experience more of the shifting winds that helped fuel what has been dubbed the La Tuna fire.
“Our priority is saving people and saving property,” Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Ralph Terrazas said at a news conference in Lake View Terrace, where he was joined by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.
Terrazas and Garcetti said the La Tuna fire was the largest in the city’s history in terms of acreage. “We can’t recall anything larger,” Terrazas said.
“Our biggest concern is the wind and weather,” Terrazas said. “The erratic weather is our No. 1 challenge. If there’s no wind, this is a relatively easy fire to put out. But when the wind changes, it changes our priorities because other properties become at risk.”
The fire was burning on multiple fronts southwest of the 210 Freeway, which remained partially closed Saturday.
Officials warned of poor air quality throughout the region. Burbank police officers wore respiratory masks early Saturday and urged residents to stay indoors and avoid outside activities because of the heavy smoke.