Crews see mild winds as ally in battle against Calif. blaze; Ariz. fire burns 1,000 acres

Crews see mild winds as ally against SoCal blaze

WRIGHTWOOD, Calif. — Firefighters expected mild winds and low temperatures forecast for Monday to help them make significant progress against a wildfire burning near a popular resort town in Southern California.

Crews maintained fire lines that kept the blaze from entering the town of Wrightwood, which remained under mandatory evacuation, San Bernardino National Forest spokeswoman Robin Prince said.

The fire had burned at least 7,500 acres, or nearly 12 square miles, by Monday morning and was 20 percent contained. But Prince said she expected that number to grow throughout the day.

“They’ll get some more containment today as long as winds stay low as they are predicted to do,” she said. “We should get a lot done today.”

Winds have reached 50 mph since the fire broke out Saturday in the San Gabriel Mountain community of Lytle Creek, but were down to 19 mph early Monday and were forecast to dip as low as 5 mph.

Temperatures were forecast to stay below 58 degrees.

The fire had destroyed three homes in remote canyons but firefighters had kept it from encroaching into Wrightwood. Between 4,000 to 6,000 residents were ordered to evacuate.

The Snowline Joint Unified School District announced that its 10 area schools would remain closed Monday due to the fire.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency for San Bernardino County, freeing up state resources to battle the fire.

The cause of the blaze was under investigation. Fueled by thick timber and brush, the fire pushed over hills and canyons by fast-moving winds.

In Arizona, strong winds kept some residents of the scenic northern Arizona city of Williams from returning to their homes Sunday as crews battled a prescribed burn that grew out of control and threatened part of the community known as the “Gateway to the Grand Canyon.”

Punky Moore, a Kaibab National Forest spokeswoman, said the fire scorched about 1,000 acres, or more than 1½ square miles.

The blaze, which was burning forest undergrowth and ponderosa pines, was 10 percent contained early Monday.

“We had a little bit of cloud cover and that did help moderate fire activity, but we still had the winds,” she said. “That’s a concern. We just don’t want any fire outside of the lines.”

The forecast called for wind gusts as high as 26 mph Monday.