A fire broke out in the Los Angeles National Forest on Sunday. It razed through the surrounding area burning down a house, three mobile houses along with a garage and several sheds. The people were immediately evacuated as the fire burnt through 2,066 acres of terrain. They had to stay out overnight, as it was not safe for them to come back to their homes. The county fire department was able to contain the fire to a large extent. The spokes woman Ron Haralson said on Sunday night “There’s been no open flames for hours. It’s just smoldering, we want that to continue but the winds are going to grow and we risk a flare-up.”
The prospect of the strong Santa Ana winds coming up, which have the possibility of going up to 60 KMPH, alarmed the authorities. These winds coming in from the inland area could rekindle the fire by spreading the embers among the parched forest. The brush and chaparral around the area is prone to catch fire quickly.
It was found advisable to set up a ‘fire weather watch ‘ across California as a precaution. More than 1000 people, water dumping helicopters were deployed to counter the fire. The cause of the fire is not known.
“It burned right down to a couple of neighborhoods,” said U.S. Forest Service spokesman Stanton Florea. It burned down the neighboring Kagel and Lopez canyons and more than 450 homes had to be evacuated. Even the animals had to be evacuated. “They are packing them up in case they have to go,” said U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Dee Decherd.
