They may have a fire in their hearts for each other, but surely the wedding couple that made their way into the Angeles National Forest on Saturday for their reception did not expect the scenery to include actual flames.
But when a wildfire started that afternoon in Sierra Madre and the canyon where the group had gathered was evacuated of day-hikers and campers, the adventurous wedding party of 50 elected to stay. They spent the night in cabins at Camp Sturtevant, 3 1/2 miles north of the Chantry Flats ranger station.
The wildfire has consumed about 400 acres of steep mountainous terrain north of the city, according to authorities.
Sierra Madre fire: An article about a wildfire near Sierra Madre in Monday's California section said authorities had marked as a crime scene an area off Santa Anita Boulevard. The name of the street above Santa Anita Avenue that the site is on is Santa Anita Canyon Road.
Today, authorities decided it was too dangerous for the revelers to remain, according to Robert Klusman, an operations leader for the Sierra Madre Search and Rescue Team, which helped evacuate the group. Over the course of the morning, a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department air rescue helicopter made five trips to ferry the guests, all of whom were unharmed, to the ranger station.
The fire, which has consumed some areas that have not been touched by flames for 40 years, burned one out-building on Lotus Lane. Two minor injuries to firefighters were reported, according to Sierra Madre Fire Department Battalion Chief Michael Bamberger. About 1,000 people were evacuated from about 550 homes in Sierra Madre.
Authorities investigating the origin of the fire have marked as a crime scene an area off Santa Anita Boulevard, about a mile north of the last residences.
"This is not a lazy fire," he said. "This fire is burning with some energy." Bamberger said he was waiting for the possibility of more evacuations, although he added, "It looks like we're making good progress tying off the southern end of the fire," near the city's northern boundary.
About 500 firefighters from all over the state are attacking the blaze and more are on the way, Bamberger said.
When the fire started, residents tried to gauge how bad it was and how fast to go. Dana Hart, who lives on Alta Vista Road at the edge of the mountains, had left her house with her 19-month-old daughter around 8 p.m. Saturday to go to a friend's house. She returned a couple of hours later to make sure her sprinklers were on.
"At that point, people were panicked and running and throwing stuff into their cars and screaming for loved ones they couldn't find . . . I started to get scared." She took a computer, family photos and a couple of artworks.
Linda Mayer, public information officer for the Red Cross, said about 50 Sierra Madre residents signed into shelters and 40 stayed overnight. Trucks from the humane society could be seen Sunday morning near the shelters, picking up about 25 cats and dogs and taking temporary custody of them until their owners could return home.
The evacuation areas were north of Grandview Avenue, from Santa Anita Avenue west to Mountain Trail, and north of Mira Monte and Carter avenues, west to Oak Crest Drive.
ted.rohrlich@latimes.com
