Scorching temperatures continued to stoke wildfires across Southern California on Friday, creating anxious moments in the mountains north and east of Los Angeles, where thousands of residents fled flames that skipped through canyons, edging toward one neighborhood after another.
More than 2,700 firefighters and a small air force of air tankers and helicopters managed to stop the blazes before they swept into hillside housing tracts. But smoky air from the fires continued to create unhealthful conditions in parts of the San Gabriel and San Fernando valleys.
And the situation remained precarious late Friday in several areas, notably the slopes above La Canada Flintridge where more than 5,100 acres had burned. By late Friday evening, mandatory evacutations had been ordered in areas near La Canada Flintridge Golf Course, affecting more than 50 homes.
"It's going to be extremely dynamic," said David Conklin, fire management officer for Angeles National Forest. "We've got a lot of work ahead of us."
Dubbed the Station fire, it was the most dangerous of four blazes still burning Friday from the San Bernardino National Forest to the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Relatively calm winds greatly aided firefighters, but triple-digit temperatures were expected to last through Sunday, making fire-control efforts extremely difficult in steep, open canyon areas.
The Station fire jumped fire lines and Angeles Crest Highway on Friday morning. There were voluntary evacuations in three areas and nearly 900 families decided to leave.
Down-canyon winds overnight Thursday pushed the fire toward La Canada Flintridge. But daytime winds shifted up the canyons, spreading the fire out toward the east and west.
By Friday evening, the flames were moving southeast along the Arroyo Seco above Altadena, as well as northwest toward Tujunga.
"We want to keep it from getting established on the slopes above Altadena and below Mt. Wilson. There are a lot of National Forest campgrounds in there," said Stanton Florea, a fire information officer for the U.S. Forest Service .
He said fire personnel were fanning out in the area ahead of the fire to warn campers and hikers to leave the area. The fire was threatening the Switzer's picnic area and the Milard and Gould Mesa campgrounds, among other areas.
The fire is spreading in rocky and steep terrain and areas where extremely thick vegetation has not been thinned by fire in the last 40 years. Firefighters cannot get bulldozers in most areas and have to dig fire lines by hand. The Station fire was 5% contained.
