A fast-growing forest fire near the Los Angeles National Forest prompted evacuations and the closure of a highway in Santa Clarita on Sunday amid hot and dry conditions in the region.
The wildfire broke out in the Soledad Canyon Road area and spread rapidly, jumping to Highway 14 around 4 p.m., according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The highway in that area remained closed as of 8 pm
The fire, dubbed the Soledad Fire, grew to 1,100 acres at 8 pm and was 0% contained, the fire department said. Four hundred staff members were fighting the fire.
Residents living near the highway in the Agua Dulce Canyon Road area were ordered to evacuate. About 20 houses were threatened.
The Red Cross established a temporary evacuation site in Palmdale in the Victory Outreach Church parking lot at 25th Street East. Evacuees must remain in their vehicles.
Firefighters will work throughout the night to contain the fire, authorities said.
Firefighters urged Los Angeles County residents to refrain from lighting fireworks anywhere near the dry brush.
In Hawthorne, all of the southbound lanes of Highway 405 on El Segundo Boulevard were also temporarily closed due to a small wildfire, the California Highway Patrol said.
The causes of the fires were not immediately known.
The fires follow an unrelenting night of fireworks on the Fourth of July. Los Angeles firefighters responded to thousands of emergency calls on Saturday and extinguished at least one major fire that consumed half of an apartment complex in Northridge, authorities said.
Dry conditions, high temperatures, and high winds in some parts of Los Angeles County have raised concerns about the possibility that the fires will spread rapidly over the weekend.
On Sunday, the minimum humidity dropped to single digits and to teens in many areas of the interior and foothills, while high temperatures in those areas are forecast to reach 10 degrees above normal, the Weather Service said. National.
High fire danger is expected to continue through Monday in inland areas such as Santa Clarita, with peaks in the 1990s and gusty winds forecast.
Times editor Alex Wigglesworth contributed to this report.
