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Evacuations ordered as SoCal wildfire doubles to 7,000 acres

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20050929-0635-wst-socalwildfires.html

Jeff Wilson
ASSOCIATED PRESS

6:35 a.m. September 29, 2005

LOS ANGELES – A wind-whipped brush fire on the northwestern edge of the city's San Fernando Valley doubled in size overnight to at least 7,000 acres by Thursday morning, spurring authorities to order evacuations and issue warnings to communities to the west and south of the blaze, officials said.
The fire, which straddled Los Angeles and Ventura counties, grew despite the efforts of more than 1,000 firefighters who were battling the blaze, said Los Angeles Fire Capt. Mark Savage.

The fire threatened canyon homes in Los Angeles, and flames crested a ridge and were creeping west toward a cluster of dwellings in a neighborhood near Thousand Oaks in Ventura County to the west, said Michele Faina, a fire inspector and spokeswoman for the Ventura County Fire Department.

One home and a detached garage were destroyed and countless others were threatened, officials said.

Firefighters planned an all-out assault on the blaze at daybreak using water-dropping helicopters and tanker planes, Savage said. The biggest concern was that wind-fanned flames would leap over the Hollywood (101) Freeway and roar toward Malibu 10 miles to the south, he said.

Firefighters expected a tough day Thursday, with low humidity, triple-digit temperatures and brisk winds, he said.

"We're going to have our hands full," Savage said. "We need a break in the weather ... The weather today simply isn't good news for us."

As Savage spoke at a command post in Chatsworth near the fire, a steady stream of ash fell and orange flames lit up the predawn skies just to the west. The acrid stench of smoke enveloped the area.

Evacuation shelters were opened in Los Angeles and in Ventura County.

About 45 evacuees were at Canoga Park High School in the San Fernando Valley, where the Red Cross had set up cots and provided meals.

"Our house is still OK, but oh God it's not a good feeling," said Phil Goldenberg, 53, who was at the high school gymnasium with his wife and son. Goldenberg said they decided to leave their home in Bell Canyon as a precaution, realizing there is always the threat of fire in his wooded neighborhood.

Trisha Higgins and her 16-year-old son, Jake, fled their Thousand Oaks area home at 2:30 a.m. after authorities drove up and down their street with lights flashing, ordering evacuations through loudspeakers. They also came to the school gym.

"There was a ridge of flames and everyone seemed to be leaving," Higgins said. "We weren't sure where to go so we wound up here."

Three elementary schools in the Chatsworth area would be closed Thursday, fire officials said.

Another large fire in Riverside County had burned 1,160 acres in San Timoteo Canyon between the cities of Redlands and Moreno Valley, about 70 miles east of Los Angeles, said Capt. Julie Hutchinson of the Riverside County Fire Department. Smaller fires were burning to the west in the Moorpark area of Ventura County and to the east in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

On Wednesday, the Chatsworth fire burned right up to the edge of a number of multimillion-dollar homes that abut rural, picturesque hillsides separating Los Angeles and Ventura counties. The blaze, which began in the midafternoon, hopscotched along the 118 Freeway and threatened homes in the densely wooded Box and Bell canyons and a trailer park where mandatory evacuations were in place.

It wasn't immediately known how many homes were in danger, but a ridge of flames 10 to 15 feet high stretched several miles across much of the western edge of the San Fernando Valley and into Ventura County. The bright red frames, framed by the night sky, were visible for miles.

The fire was 5 percent contained early Thursday, authorities said. The cause had not been determined, they said.

One firefighter was struck on the head by a 40-pound boulder and was taken to a hospital for examination, said Capt. Carlos Calvillo, an LAFD spokesman.

Firefighters were having a difficult time protecting some of the ranch-style homes because they didn't have enough brush clearance to keep flames away.

"In some of these remote areas there are some people who have large shrubbery or trees close to their home," said Los Angeles County Fire Department spokesman Ron Haralson. "When fire pushes into those trees it makes it hard to defend those homes."

Many of the large, ranch-style residences are also home to animals, and Karen Knipscheer of Los Angeles City Animal Services said at least 30 horses, 15 alpacas, four goats, a parakeet and a pig had been evacuated. The animals were being housed at Pierce College in the San Fernando Valley.

On Thursday morning, a man showed up at the Chatsworth command post with three horses – two brown, one spotted black and white – which he had led on foot away from the blaze. Soon after, workers from the Los Angeles Department of Animal Control arrived with a trailer and took the agitated animals to a safe place in the eastern part of the valley.

In the biggest Riverside County blaze, flames destroyed three chicken coops at a ranch that is believed to have had 70,000 to 90,000 chickens, said Cheri Patterson, a spokeswoman for the Riverside County Fire Department.

"It's a vast amount," she said.

Ten hillside structures were in the fire's path and another 200 in a housing development in Moreno Valley also were threatened, according to Patterson.

There were no other reports of any damage or injuries.

Nearly 400 firefighters battled the blaze, which was 25 percent contained, Hutchinson said. Officials expected to contain the fire by 6 p.m., according to the Riverside County Fire Department Web site.

Smaller fires in Riverside, Ventura and San Bernardino counties were contained, officials said.

A 50-acre fire was 30 percent contained in northern San Diego County Wednesday night. The blaze, which started about 1:15 p.m. when a vehicle caught fire, was about two miles north of the Pala Indian casino, fire officials said. No homes were threatened and there were no reports of any injuries.

The National Weather Service issued a high-wind warning for parts of Southern California due to moderate surface high pressure over the Great Basin. Winds whipped up to 50 mph in some areas but died down during the night.