AIR7 HD over Sand Fire burning in northern LA CountyMandatory evacuations were issued for 10,000 homes, which covers approximately 20,000 residents, and 200 commercial buildings were threatened, according to officials from the Los Angeles County Fire Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
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L.A. County Fire Chief Daryl Osby told the LA Times “Probably five years ago, based on our fire behavior, if we had a similar fire, we would have probably caught this fire at the ridge,”. Fire officials said Saturday night that the blaze was at 20 percent containment, but the U.S. Forest Service corrected that figure and said the fire remains at 10 percent containment.
Planes have been unable to make drops over the fire, but helicopters are releasing retardant around the perimeter of the blaze.
Officials also said that those who wait to evacuate until the last minute, or attempt to return home before being told it’s safe to do so, only pose a greater threat for firefighters. “Up to that point, in the back of my mind, we were still going home”.
The blaze was threatening a cluster of small communities near Santa Clarita, about 65km north of Los Angeles, as it cast a pall of smoke and soot over a wide area of the region.
“Then we just focused on what really mattered in the house”, she said, adding that they had gathered important documents before fleeing with their two dogs and three birds. CHP Sgt. Kevin Pack said residents trying to get back to their homes have almost run over officers and deputies.
Residents of thousands of homes were evacuated, and a 40-mile stretch of State Route 14, known as the Antelope Valley Freeway, was closed except for those leaving.
Unexpected winds on Sunday reenergized the blaze and stirred up fire tornadoes that jumped across the area.
“That fire came through like a freight train”, KABC reported Los Angeles County Fire Department Commander John Tripp said.
Jerri Masten-Hansen said she and her husband watched the fire creep in toward them.
“They’re working hard, they’re exhausted, it’s hot, it’s dry”, battalion fire chief Marc Peebles told local television station KABC-TV.
“I don’t know if he got out of there or not”.
According to the Los Angeles County Fire Department, the fire has claimed 18 structuress; a body was also found near the fire, and has since been declared a fire-related fatality.
Earlier, Johnson said at least 140 deputies in Santa Clarita Valley were working on protecting the evacuation areas.
On Saturday, he got the devastating news that his home had been burned to the ground in the raging blaze that destroyed 17 other residences, scorched more than 33,000 acres and forced thousands from their homes.
A firefighter battle flames at the so-called Sand Fire in the Angeles National Forest near Los Angeles, California on July 24.
A Bengal tiger and as well other exotic animals have been evacuated from the Wildlife Waystation reserve, where rescued exotic animals live.
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Brock Bradford lives in a historic house in Palo Colorado and could see the flames coming down the road as he evacuated.
