Hundreds of people had to flee their homes from the foothills northwest of Los Angeles as a fast-moving wildfire blackened around 33,000 acres Sunday night, threatening homes and commercial structures in the area.
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In a press conference, authorities confirmed the death of one person in the fire after announcing Saturday night that they were trying to identify the deceased person found in the area who appears to have lived in one of razed homes.
It burned in inaccessible terrain 5 miles south of Garrapata State Park and forced the communities of Palo Colorado and Carmel Highlands to evacuate, California’s forestry department said.
Peebles said more than 1,673 firefighters, 122 engines, eight fixed-wing air-tankers and six heli-tankers are working to extinguish the wild fire.
The area was among those ordered evacuated as the fire raged through brush withered by days of 100-degree temperatures as Southern California sweltered through a heat wave.
CalFire Fire Captain Lucas Spelman says the number one driving factor of this fire is the drought.
Even still, some of the area’s vegetation – brittle brush and chaparral – has not burned in some 60 years, Tripp said, fueling this weekend’s fire whose flames whipped 20 to 50 feet high and seemed to jump ahead by a quarter-mile at a time.
Los Angeles County Fire Department reports on the increasing the square of wildfires.
“When we talk about extreme fire behavior”, Carol Smith, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service told the Los Angeles Times, “this is what we mean”.
About 300 miles up the coast, crews are battling another blaze spanning 16 square miles north of the Big Sur region. Although the Sheriff’s Department is still investigating, officials have said that the body was found inside a burned vehicle parked in a driveway.
Lois Wash, 87, said she and her daughter and her dog evacuated, but her husband refused.
The U.S. Forest Service said drones have been interfering with firefighting efforts against the blaze in Santa Clarita.
An army of 1,673 firefighters continued to battle the so-called Sand fire burning in the Angeles National Forest just north of the city.
Thousands of firefighters battle low humidity, shifting winds, and triple-digit temperatures.
The evacuated animals were housed in three or four locations, and the sanctuary will wait at least 24 hours before bringing them back.
The SCAQMD said affected areas are susceptible to direct smoke impact and unhealthy air quality, and recommended that people stay indoors and avoid using swamp coolers and wood-burning appliances.
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Community members showed up Saturday at the Wildlife WayStation in Sylmar to help evacuate some 400 exotic animals, according to Lt. Javier Gutierrez of Los Angeles County Animal Care and Control.
