An army of firefighters rallied Thursday morning to prevent a massive fire from consuming communities in the Lake Hughes area after the fire exploded to more than 10,000 acres in just a few hours.
Officials warned that containment of the Lake fire – which began Wednesday in the Angeles National Forest at the 5 Freeway and quickly erupted through stands of pine trees – would be a long and arduous process. The battle is made more difficult by rough terrain and thick vegetation that has not burned in some areas for several decades.
“This is going to be a big fire for several days,” Angeles National Forest Fire Chief Robert Garcia said at a news conference Thursday.
After the fire broke out shortly after 3.30pm on Wednesday, the fire moved towards several small communities on the floor of the Antelope Valley west of Lancaster. On Wednesday evening it burned rapidly to the northeast, towards Highway 138.
By the time sunrise Thursday, the flame had swept through 10,500 acres and destroyed three structures. More than 5,000 buildings remain under threat, according to officials with the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
LA County Fire Chief Daryl Osby said crews have been actively fighting the blaze all night.
“We can say that many structures were preserved because of the actions of the firefighters yesterday,” he said. “They were up all night.”
The weather late Wednesday and early Thursday brought a welcome respite, with cloud cover and even a chance shower in the burning area, but temperatures are expected to rise in the afternoon.
“The current weather we started with this morning helped us buy some time,” Garcia said.
The National Water Service has issued excessive heat warnings in Southern California for Friday through Monday night.
“Today, high air temperatures in the 90s to 100s, lower relative humidities and dry fuels will bring increased fire weather conditions,” officials wrote in an incident update for the Lake Fire Thursday morning. She added that “extreme and aggressive fire behavior” was expected, reinforced by the steep topography of the area, with spot fires and rapid growth of the flame.
That combination of thick vegetation and hot, dry and windy conditions is fueling the fire, according to Seneca Smith, a public information officer with the Angeles National Forest.
“Current targets include holding the fire north of Castaic Lake, south of Highway 138, east of Red Rock Mountain and west of Tule Ridge,” officials wrote in the update.
More than 1,000 personnel, including several helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, were deployed to the scene, with assistance provided by the LA County Fire Department, the Angeles National Forest and various fire departments in the area.
The cause of the fire is being investigated, but Osby said “more than 90% of fires are caused by humans” each year, underscoring the need to be careful and prepared.
“It’s going to be a hot, dry summer,” he said, “and it’s going to be a very, very, very dry weekend.”
