LOS ANGELES (AP) – A burned body was found Saturday at the scene of a brushfire north of Los Angeles that has scorched 31 square miles and prompted the evacuation of 1,500 homes, authorities said. A wildfire north of Los Angeles has now burned about 2.3 square miles of bon.
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It was heading toward the famously lovely Big Sur forest and was expected to burn more fiercely at night as moist ocean air retreated and warm, dry air from inland began blowing toward the sea, state fire spokesman Jonathan Pangburn said.
Detectives will try to determine whether the person died from the fire or from other causes.
It was unclear if the death was connected to the fire, but homicide investigators were called out to the area Saturday evening, Deputy Juanita Navarro told BuzzFeed News.
“It’s not a one-direction type of fire”, Judy said. As night fell, the flames were heading away from the more heavily populated areas of Santa Clarita, which has around 180,000 residents, toward the Angeles National Forest. The National Weather Service issued red flag warnings through midnight Saturday for mountains in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys, and mountains and the south coastal areas of Santa Barbara.
Some 20,000 acres have been obliterated by the rampant inferno as emergency services admit they only have “10 per cent” of the blaze under control.
Bengal tigers and a mountain lion were among several hundred animals evacuated Saturday as flames partially ringed the Wildlife Waystation, a nonprofit sanctuary for rescued exotic creatures in Sylmar.
Its Facebook page is appealing for flatbed and enclosed trucks as well as an air-conditioned warehouse to keep the animals cool.
The fire erupted Friday in nearly inaccessible terrain 5 miles south of Garrapata State Park.
Residents reported of smoke-filled air and falling ash in many parts of the greater Los Angeles area, and at least one building was believed to have been damaged or destroyed.
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The South Coast Air Quality Management District said those areas were susceptible to direct smoke impact and unhealthy air quality, and recommended that people stay indoors and avoid using swamp coolers and wood-burning appliances. The fire erupted Friday afternoon amid a withering heat wave and spread over. Some 300 homes have been ordered evacuated. The Los Angeles Fire Department sent a water-dropping helicopter to join the county fire department.
