Brush Fires

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 water-dropping planes 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, disrupting schools, horseback riding programs and day camps near the fire areas.

A brush fire burning in the Acton area Tuesday afternoon disrupted Metrolink service and forced the closure of Soledad Canyon Road, officials said. The blaze had burned at least one structure and scorched about 20 acres near the 4700 block of West Crown Valley Road. The blaze has burned at least 40 acres, officials said. Fire crews were battling to protect structures threatened by flames as four helicopters dropped water on the blaze. Metrolink said lines were closed north of the Via Princess station.

A brush fire along the Glendale-Los Angeles boundary Tuesday briefly threatened hillside homes, snarled freeway traffic and prompted voluntary evacuations before firefighters were able to bring the blaze under control. Firefighters made a stand in the evening along Glenoaks Boulevard in Glendale, beating back flames as they approached homes in a nearby canyon, said Capt. Vincent Rifino of the Glendale Fire Department.

NEW YORK -- A massive brush fire driven by high winds and low humidity was burning out of control on Long Island east of New York City on Tuesday. Two more fires broke out in New Jersey, but firefighters managed to contain a third one that erupted at a landfill on Staten Island. The blazes broke out Monday as winds gusted at more than 40 mph across New York, New Jersey and the rest of the region. The winds, combined with low humidity and extra-dry conditions caused by a nearly snow-free winter, fed the flames, which forced some evacuations, closed roads and destroyed at least two homes.

Southern California has been hit by hot, dry winds, causing several brush fires and cutting off power to 12,000 Southern California Edison customers. Several brush fires have been reported including one in the hills above Brea and another on the San Diego County-Mexico border. A fire in a two-acre field in Riverside County damaged three nearby homes before it was largely extinguished Wednesday morning. Cheri Patterson of the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection gave details to KTLA-Channel 5. About 60 firefighters fought the blaze that began just after 9 a.m. off Van Buren Boulevard at Bellegrave Avenue in Glen Avon, Patterson said.

Brush fires burned across parched hillsides in three Southern California counties Tuesday, briefly threatening homes in Walnut and Camarillo and scorching at least 2,700 acres at Camp Pendleton. The wildfires came as the region basked under sunny skies and warm weather after experiencing gloomy conditions and lower-than-normal temperatures for much of July. "This was our first warm day," said Ventura County Fire Department Capt. Ron Oatman. In the Camarillo and Walnut blazes, fire officials credited aggressive tactics and vigilant brush clearance by residents with helping crews beat back flames.

Brush fires broke out in three Southern California counties Monday, scorching hundreds of acres, forcing the evacuation of several dozen homes and threatening other structures. A blaze near the Pala American Indian reservation in northern San Diego County had burned more than 300 acres. Thirty-five homes were under evacuation orders and 605 firefighters were on the fire line, officials said Monday night. Meanwhile, two other fires in the region were contained as crews worked in triple-digit temperatures to beat back flames.

It's been 20 years since the disastrous Paseo Grande fire swept through nearly 50,000 acres in Orange County. Fueled by a Santa Ana wind, the fire took one life, destroyed 46 homes and 11 other structures and caused the greatest evacuation of residents in the county's history. Residents of Santa Ana Canyon, Villa Park, Cowan Heights, Lemon Heights and Black Star Canyon were roused in the dark to evacuation on Halloween weekend, 1967.

Los Angeles County fire crews put out four brush fires Saturday, all within 10 miles of each other in the the Valencia and Newhall areas. A Fire Department spokesman said that arson is suspected in each of the blazes. A crew of 200 firefighters aided by three helicopters knocked down the largest of the fires at 6:15 p.m. after it burned for nearly two hours and consumed 20 acres of brush east of the Golden State Freeway near Calgrove Boulevard in Valencia, spokesman Charlie Gibson said.

As surely as fall follows summer, the Santa Anas will bring low humidity, high winds and firestorms to Southern California. Just as surely they will be accompanied by death, devastation, floods and mudslides. That is, unless we do far more to prevent the preventable. Fire is a natural part of Southern California's ecology. It is essential to heat the seed pods of chaparral so they can burst and continue to propagate on our hillsides. This need not be accomplished by only accidental and chaotic means.

A large brush fire raging in a rural valley between Carson City and Reno has consumed more than 3,000 acres, destroyed at least three homes and is nowhere near containment, Nevada officials announced Thursday afternoon. Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval declared a state of emergency shortly before 5 p.m., following similar moves by Washoe County and Reno city officials. ????Stoked by 80-mph winds, the fast-moving fire triggered the evacuation of more than 4,000 residents and cut short a scheduled speech by Vice President Joe Biden at a Reno high school.

When Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature shifted responsibility for thousands of state prisoners to county jails, some authorities said it would mean more offenders on the streets breaking the law. Few saw another possible peril: the loss of more than 1,500 inmate firefighters. Since World War II, the state has relied on nonviolent offenders serving time for such crimes as burglary, drug possession and welfare fraud to help clear brush, cut fire lines and stop infernos from spreading.

If members of Malibu Presbyterian Church needed any inspiration, it was in plain sight Sunday when the Rev. Greg Hughes stepped to the front of the congregation's temporary sanctuary. At his feet lay the twisted, blackened spire that topped the church's steeple when a brush fire engulfed the Malibu Canyon Road church Oct. 21, 2007, and burned it to the ground. "It's like it was yesterday. I can taste ash in my mouth," Hughes told a crowd of 450 gathered to give thanks for the 63-year-old congregation's survival and to break ground for a new sanctuary.

Southern California has been hit by hot, dry winds, causing several brush fires and cutting off power to 12,000 Southern California Edison customers. Several brush fires have been reported including one in the hills above Brea and another on the San Diego County-Mexico border. A fire in a two-acre field in Riverside County damaged three nearby homes before it was largely extinguished Wednesday morning. Cheri Patterson of the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection gave details to KTLA-Channel 5. About 60 firefighters fought the blaze that began just after 9 a.m. off Van Buren Boulevard at Bellegrave Avenue in Glen Avon, Patterson said.

A Southern California heat wave ended with a bang Saturday as erratic thunderstorms whipped across the region, dropping quarter-size hailstones, flooding roadways and igniting dozens of small fires with lightning strikes. The brunt of the high winds and heavy rains moved out of the area and into Kern County by the end of the day, but unpredictable storm activity is expected to swirl around the region through Monday, forecasters said. The weather could return to the deserts and mountains of northern Los Angeles County.

A small plane crashed near Tehachapi on Sunday, killing one person and igniting a fast-moving brush fire that destroyed a home and triggered evacuations. Kern County Fire Department spokesman Cary Wright said the Cessna 210 crashed in Blackburn Canyon, northeast of Los Angeles. Amid dry, windy conditions, the crash sparked a fire that quickly grew to 150 acres. About 225 firefighters and four aircraft were working to contain the blaze. Authorities did not know how many people were on the plane, but one death was confirmed.

Being a native Southern Californian and having lived in Malibu for 10 years now, I've witnessed many a Santa Ana-whipped brush fire devastate major portions of our state. Each area seems to have its own particular difficulty factor for containing such conflagrations. Here in Malibu it's the inaccessible terrain and insufficient water table or water pressure to sustain an effective holding pattern against the fires' onslaught to the sea. Water-dropping tanker planes and copters are only slightly effective.

A brush fire burned 1,800 acres south of Gorman on Saturday, forcing the evacuation of about 3,000 people from a campground and recreation area and a handful of homes, officials said. As of 8 p.m., the blaze was 30% contained, said Capt. Mike Brown of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The fire began about 2 p.m. just off southbound Interstate 5 near Gorman Post Road, Brown said, and was being attacked by water-dropping helicopters and more than 200 firefighters.

Brush fires broke out in three Southern California counties Monday, scorching hundreds of acres, forcing the evacuation of several dozen homes and threatening other structures. A blaze near the Pala American Indian reservation in northern San Diego County had burned more than 300 acres. Thirty-five homes were under evacuation orders and 605 firefighters were on the fire line, officials said Monday night. Meanwhile, two other fires in the region were contained as crews worked in triple-digit temperatures to beat back flames.

The California Supreme Court sent a stern warning Monday to youths who play with firecrackers: If a blaze breaks out, you may be found guilty of arson. The state high court ruled 5 to 2 in the case of two 17-year-olds who in July 2008 set off a cherry bomb in the foothills above Pasadena that caused five acres of brush to burn in the Angeles National Forest. A juvenile court commissioner found that the teens did not mean to set a fire but knew that throwing the cherry bomb might ignite one. The teens were sentenced to home probation.