Dozens of animals were reunited with their owners Monday after being forced to evacuate due to a massive blaze that burned more than 500 acres in the hills above Calabasas.
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On Sunday morning, Calabasas residents were able to return to their homes, but Topanga residents are still under a mandatory evacuation, officials say.
Firefighters are reporting that they possibly have about 75 percent of a 516-acre brush fire in Calabasas, California contained as water-dropping helicopters and hundreds of firefighters worked around the clock to extinguish the blaze.
Tripp said firefighters have made “great progress” on the north and west sides of the fire, but that winds Sunday from the southwest could push fire to the east. This will include Calabasas High School, Alice C. Stelle Middle School, and Chaparral Elementary School.
An evacuation center for displaced residents was established at Agoura High School in Agoura Hills (map).
Fire officials praised the community for aggressive brush clearance for preventing further damage in an area that has not burned in more than 70 years.
Firefighters approach a brush fire in the foothills outside of Calabasas, Calif. on Saturday, June 4, 2016.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department said that the fire was caused by a solo-vehicle auto crash.
The update clarified that the LAFD was fighting the Valley Circle Fire while the LACoFD contained Old Fire in the Topanga Canyon area.
The Los Angeles Times reported that fire officials are battling a separate wildfire in Riverside County near the Interstate 15.
Power was knocked out to 681 homes Saturday evening but was restored to all but two by Sunday, said Southern California Edison spokesman Robert Villegas. Three firefighters sustained minor injuries, officials said.
About 90 horses that had been sheltered at Pierce College in Woodland Hills also were in the process of being returned to their homes.
“Witnesses reported that the truck was traveling at a high rate of speed before colliding into a power pole, causing the pole to fall and a transformer to explode, thus igniting the Calabasas fire”, he said.
Reports on Saturday that three homes were damaged, turned out to be erroneous.
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The fire was about 80 percent contained by Monday morning, and evacuation orders have been lifted. The smoke could be seen across the region, and a dusting of ash rained down on neighborhoods more than 30 miles away. No structures were threatened.
