California wildfire size explodes during night
LOS ANGELES — A fire burning at the edge of two foothill communities north of Los Angeles destroyed at least five structures and threatened hundreds of others after exploding in size Sunday.
Erratic wind fanned the blaze in the Angeles National Forest to nearly 41 square miles overnight, after fast-moving flames triggered the evacuation of nearly 1,000 homes in Lake Hughes and Lake Elizabeth, officials said.
Authorities knew of five structures that burned but there could be more, according to Matt Corelli of the U.S. Forest Service. He said the charred structures could be homes, but crews were waiting to make a positive determination.
“It’s difficult for our damage assessment teams to get in there with the fire as hot as it is,” he said.
At least 10 other structures were damaged in the communities nestled in canyons at the western edge of the Antelope Valley.
The fire, which chewed thick brush that hadn’t burned in about a dozen years, was 20 percent contained.
Patty Robitaille, 61, grabbed personal photos and documents before fleeing her home with her pit bull, Roxie, as flames approached Saturday night.
She said her property was in the direct path of the fire.
“Driving away, you could see the town burning up,” she told the Los Angeles Times. “I don’t think there’s going to be much left.”
Crews working in steep terrain welcomed cooler weather Sunday after triple-digit temperatures a day earlier. More than 2,100 firefighters on the ground received help from water-dropping aircraft.
The blaze broke out Thursday just north of Powerhouse No. 1, a hydroelectric plant near the Los Angeles Aqueduct, forcing about 200 evacuations in the mountain community of Green Valley.
The wilderness area is a draw for boaters, campers and hikers. Crews and residents were being warned to keep an eye out for rattlesnakes and bears that could be displaced by flames, Corelli said.