SOCAL INFERNO RAGES ON
Crews reach 5% containment, but strong winds are forecast to return today
The massive Woolsey fire grew to 83,275 acres Saturday evening as crews reached 5 percent containment, and officials warned that harsh winds are expected to return today.
The acreage burned was up from 70,000 Saturday morning and 35,000 Friday night.
Firefighters planned to work through the night to keep the flames from spreading.
“Don’t be lulled by a false sense of security,” Ventura County Fire Department Chief Mark Lorenzen said. “We know that tomorrow mother nature will turn her fan back on again.”
Crews on Saturday took advantage of lighter winds, focusing on setting up a perimeter around the edges of the blaze. Firefighters were focused on the eastern side of the fire, along Bell Canyon and the 101 Freeway, and the south end at Malibu Canyon. Crews dropped retardant in canyon ridges while others were cutting lines for containment, the perimeter beyond which firefighters do not believe the flames will move. They also focused on hot spots, said Chief Daryl Osby of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
Los Angeles city Firefighter Charlie Taggart, who along with other members of his crew worked 30 hours straight battling the flames in the canyon, said the sheer size of the fire left their equipment spread thin.
“The wind was whipping, the fire line was pretty intense,” Taggart said. “Unfortunately we lost some homes.”
Taggart recalled at one point seeing four homes in flames at once.
“Trying to fight that with three or four engines is impossible,” he said. “When the houses were going up, the wind was howling at 30 to 50 mph, it was almost knocking my helmet off. Fire was jumping house to house.”
Within the Bell Canyon neighborhood itself, more than a dozen homes were burned to the ground, with only stonework
and brick remaining. At least one car was destroyed, its hubcaps melted down to the pavement. Nearby gas lines shot off flames.
Other homes escaped the blaze with little damage, with some residents staying behind to risk their lives to protect their property.
Mark Leiss, 49, stayed behind when his wife and two daughters left their home, using a water hose, and later buckets when the water pressure died, to keep flames at bay.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been as scared in my life,” Leiss said. “It’s the flames, its the heat and the speed of the wind coming at you. It blew me backward.”
Fire officials planned to have crews in fire corridors this morning and planned to have helicopters flying at first light, Osby said. He added other aircraft would be deployed if conditions were safe enough to do so.
Crews battling the blaze nonstop since it began got some relief on Saturday.
“They’ll be fresh for [Sunday’s] firefight,” Osby said.
And more relief was on its way. Officials said 153 engines from out of state were making their way to help in the battle. All days off have been canceled.
Hundreds of firefighters have been assigned to the blaze, but
state resources are stretched with a deadly fire also burning in Northern California.
Another round of strong Santa Ana winds are expected today, according to the National Weather Service, giving firefighters a short window to make progress before the gusts that originally drove the fast-moving fire return. A red flag warning — marking the dangerous combination of low humidity, high temperatures and gusty wind — was scheduled to go into effect across Southern California on Saturday night.
The likelihood of stronger winds coming back, likely until Tuesday, had L.A. authorities unable to provide a timeline for when evacuees can return or roadways reopen, though some people Saturday night were allowed back to their homes in parts of Simi Valley in Ventura County.
“Quite frankly, it’s still not safe,” Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Chief John Benedict said. “When we ask you to evacuate, please heed that warning.”
California Highway Patrol Lt. Kevin Kurker said the agency planned to reopen the 101 Freeway at some point Saturday night.
Two bodies were discovered on Friday within the fire’s footprint in the Malibu area, according to Los Angeles County
Sheriff’s Department officials. Officials said Saturday evening that the bodies were found severely burned inside a stopped vehicle in a long, narrow driveway. No further details were given.
Law enforcement in both Los Angeles and Ventura counties are keeping an eye out for potential looters, authorities said. Two people already have been arrested in Ventura County. No other arrests were made by Saturday evening, officials said.
The flames have burned out of control for two days since breaking out near the former Rocketdyne site south of Simi Valley. The fire has prompted waves of evacuations, sending residents fleeing approaching flames from portions of Westlake Village, Hidden Hills, Agoura Hills, Calabasas and Malibu.
On Saturday, 250,000 residents were reported evacuated from some 75,000 homes.
At least 150 homes across Southern California have been torched, including Malibu mansions belonging to the rich and famous.
Snarled traffic and road closures, as well as heavy smoke, have hindered travel though portions of Southern California over the past couple of days. The 101 Freeway was closed in both directions from Valley Circle to Reyes Abobe.