With treacherous Santa Ana winds as their bellows, twin wildfires raced through populated canyons, forests and brushlands on the northern fringes of the San Fernando Valley, claiming at least one life and 49 structures, and prompting authorities to suggest a hair-raising, worst-case scenario -- that one of the blazes, which began near Porter Ranch, could burn all the way to the Pacific Ocean about 15 miles away.
"This fire has the potential to move from where it is now . . . perhaps as far as Pacific Coast Highway," Los Angeles County Fire Chief Michael Freeman said Monday afternoon as he assessed what he called "a design for disaster." Freeman said winds of up to 60 mph were expected to push the fire down through canyons at least through this morning.
More than 800 city, county and state firefighters battled the two blazes, which shut down major portions of the 210 and 118 freeways and filled the horizon with a thick curtain of smoke, white at the edges but fading from red to black near the core. The scene took on an apocalyptic cast as traffic ground to a standstill and blasts of wind sent shudders through cars and buildings, bending trees, snapping limbs and sending trash cans clattering on empty, smoke-darkened blocks.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday, October 15, 2008 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 38 words Type of Material: Correction
Porter Ranch fire: A caption accompanying a photo of the Porter Ranch fire in Tuesday's Section A misspelled the name of the mountain where the Sesnon fire started Monday morning. It started on Oat Mountain, not Oak Mountain.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, warning residents that the fickle winds made the fires especially dangerous and unpredictable. "The state is coordinating with federal and local officials to ensure that firefighters have the resources they need, but with such a serious situation on our hands, we need residents to take every precaution to remain safe during this dangerous and difficult time," he said in a written statement.
The causes of the fires had not been determined.
The winds were so strong that Freeman said embers were being blown as far as a quarter mile, and flames stretched up to 80 feet. Flames longer than 8 feet are considered virtually insurmountable, and Los Angeles County prohibits hand crews from approaching flames longer than 4 feet, according to Drew Smith, a county fire behaviorist.
In addition to their ground attack, firefighters were trying to douse the blazes by helicopter and Super Scooper air tankers, and were considering using the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention's DC-10 firefighting aircraft.
