Los Angeles County fire officials now say a.
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Thousands of people who left their homes in the hills northwest of Los Angeles were allowed to return Sunday night after crews working in steep canyons took advantage of lower temperatures and calmer winds to beat back a brush fire.
“3,000 homes are evacuated which is about 5,000 people”, said Tony Coroalles, city manager of Calabasas, which is home to a handful of celebrities, including the Kardashians, Jessica Simpson and Toni Braxton.
It has been reported that the wildfire began on Saturday afternoon and has now placed entire neighborhoods at risk of burning to the ground in the prosperous semi-rural enclave that is Calabasas.
The blaze erupted about 4:15 p.m. on Saturday in the 23700 block of Mulholland Highway when a pickup truck knocked down a power pole and the transformer exploded, igniting brush, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.
A commercial building was destroyed in the fire, which started when a vehicle hit a utility pole and brought down a power line, but no homes were damaged.
“The fire is on the side of a a mountain, it’s not on any road, and we are trying to get firefighters up there”, said John Tripp, a Los Angeles County fire deputy chief.
Temperature are expected to be 90 to 95 degrees Sunday, which is slightly cooler than the previous day. Three homes were also damaged.
A smoke advisory remained in effect Monday morning for the surrounding area, according to the South Coast Air Quality District.
Days of hot temperatures created flawless fire conditions, as vegetation was extremely dried out, officials said.
The city of Calabasas ordered horses and large animals to be evacuated to Pierce College, while small animals, like dogs and cats, were to be evacuated to the Agoura Animal Shelter.
Helicopters dropped water on the blaze in an effort to stop the fire. Two suffered knee injuries, and one had a “cardiac event”.
The smoke could be seen across the region, and a dusting of ash rained down on neighbourhoods more than 50 kilometres away.
The blaze grew to 200 acres in a matter of hours.
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To the north in Monterey County, a wildfire that has charred 3,500 acres of grass and brush in the Los Padres National Forest has prompted evacuations and is threatening numerous structures.
