Wildfire near Los Angeles moves north and grows out of control, threatening thousands of homes

Calif. wildfire heads north, threatens thousands

LOS ANGELES — Wildfire threatened 12,000 suburban homes and rained ash on cars as far away as downtown Los Angeles on Sunday, spreading in all directions in hot, dry conditions. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger urged those in the fire’s path to listen to authorities and get out.

Firefighters fixed their attention on the blaze’s fast-moving northwestern front as more evacuations were ordered and on the southwestern end where flames lapped at the foot of the vital communications and astronomy center of Mount Wilson.

While thousands have fled, two people who tried to ride out the firestorm in a backyard hot tub were burned. The pair in Big Tujunga Canyon, on the southwestern edge of the fire, “completely underestimated the fire” and the hot tub provided “no protection whatsoever,” Sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore said Sunday.

The pair made their way to firefighters and were airlifted out by a sheriff’s rescue helicopter. They received adequate notification to evacuate from deputies but decided to stay, Whitmore said.

Whitmore described their condition as “critical” but fire officials said one of the two was treated and released and the other remained hospitalized in stable condition. A third person was burned Saturday in an evacuation area along Highway 2 near Mount Wilson, officials said. Details of that injury were not immediately known.

“There were people that did not listen, and there were three people that got burned and got critically injured because they did not listen,” Schwarzenegger said at a news conference at the fire command post.

The blaze was only about 5 percent contained and had scorched 66 square miles in the Angeles National Forest. Mandatory evacuations were in effect for neighborhoods in Glendale, Pasadena and other cities and towns north of Los Angeles. Officials said air quality in parts of the foothills bordered on hazardous.

The fire, which broke out Wednesday afternoon, was the largest of many burning around California, including a new blaze in Placer County northeast of Sacramento that destroyed several homes and businesses.

The Southern California fire on Sunday night was on the verge of reaching Mount Wilson, where 22 television stations and many radio stations have their transmitters, said Los Angeles County fire Capt. Mark Savage.

Television stations said if the antennas burn broadcast signals will be affected but satellite and cable transmissions will not be.

Two giant telescopes and several multimillion-dollar university programs are housed in the century-old Mount Wilson Observatory. The complex of buildings is both a historic landmark and a thriving modern center for astronomy. Firefighters have been clearing brush to make the buildings less vulnerable since the fire broke out.

At least three homes deep in the Angeles National Forest were confirmed destroyed, but firefighters were likely to find others, U.S. Forest Service Capt. Mike Dietrich said.

For the third straight day, humidity was very low and temperatures were expected in the high 90s. Some 2,000 firefighters were battling the blaze.

Mandatory evacuations were also in effect for neighborhoods in Altadena and for the communities of Acton, La Canada Flintridge, La Crescenta and Big Tujunga Canyon.

There was some progress Sunday, as a small number of La Canada Flintridge residents living west of the Arroyo Seco were told they could go back to their homes.

But more evacuations were ordered in the small town of Acton in the Antelope Valley, and school districts in La Canada Flintridge and Glendale announced that classes were canceled Monday because of the fire.

“The leading edge, the one they’re really focused on, is that northern edge. It’s moving pretty fast up in that direction,” said U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Randi Jorgenson. “But the fire’s growing in all directions. All fronts are going to be areas of concern today.”

Fixed-wing aircraft and a DC-10 jumbo jet were dropping water and flame retardant on the fire.

At the fire command post, Schwarzenegger praised firefighters for successfully protecting subdivisions in the foothills.

Rob Driscoll and his wife, Beth Halaas, said they lost their house in Big Tujunga Canyon. By Sunday morning they were desperate for more information and came to the command post to get answers.

“Our neighbors sent us photos of all the other houses that are lost,” Halaas said, her voice breaking as her young son nestled his sunburned face in her arms. “We’ve heard as many as 30 houses burned.”

At least 12 evacuation centers were set up at schools and community centers in the area.

The center at Crescenta Valley High School filled up after evacuation orders came down at about 2 a.m., but by Sunday afternoon fewer than two dozen people remained. Residents trickled in to get information and snacks.

Debbie and Mercer Barrows said their house was saved but they lost their scenic view of a hillside to the flames.

“That’ll grow back,” said Mercer Barrows, a TV producer.

To the north, several homes and businesses were destroyed in a fast-moving fire that broke out Sunday afternoon in the Sierra foothills town of Auburn northeast of Sacramento and the governor declared a state of emergency in the area.

Hundreds of people were told to evacuate and one evacuation center at a local elementary school was nearing capacity, said Dena Erwin, a spokeswoman for the Placer County Sheriff’s Department. The fire had scorched more than 500 acres by early evening.

In the state’s coastal midsection, all evacuation orders were lifted Sunday after a 10-square-mile fire burned near the Monterey County town of Soledad. The blaze, 80 percent contained, was started by agricultural fireworks used to scare animals away from crops. The fire destroyed one home.

In Mariposa County, a nearly 7-square-mile fire burned in Yosemite National Park. The blaze was 50 percent contained Sunday, said park spokeswoman Vickie Mates. Two people sustained minor injuries, she said.

Park officials closed a campground and a portion of Highway 120, anticipating that the fire would spread north toward Tioga Road, the highest elevation route through the Sierra.

About 50 homes in the towns of El Portal and Foresta were under evacuation orders and roads in the area will remain closed through Monday, Mates said.