LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A wildfire in California has forced the evacuation of hundreds of homes as it was largely undisturbed by densely forested mountains north of Los Angeles that finally burned 50 to 100 years ago, firefighters said Thursday.
The frame of a car is burned as a fast-moving wildfire, called the Lake Fire, burns in a mountainous area of the Angeles National Forest north of Los Angeles, California, USA August 13, 2020. REUTERS / Patrick T. Fallon
The blaze has burned about 10,500 acres (4249 acres) since erupting Wednesday afternoon at Lake Hughes in the Angeles National Forest. As of Thursday afternoon, it remained at contained zero percent, despite a light morning rain over the area, said Andrew Witch, spokesman for U.S. Forest Service.
Temperatures in the region were expected to rise above 100 degrees Fahrenheit later in the day, he said.
“This is going to be a big fire for several days,” Forest Service Regional Fire Chief Robert Garcia told reporters.
The exact cause of the blaze, called the Lake Fire, was investigated, although human activity was likely to be to blame, Mitchell said.
No casualties were reported, but the blaze called for the mandatory evacuation of about 500 homes in communities about 40 miles (65 km) north of downtown Los Angeles, Mitchell said.
Thick, extremely dry vegetation, some of which had not burned for nearly a century, fueled the flames that roared hard up steep canyons and hills, he said.
Daryl Osby, a Los Angeles County firefighter, said the fire had destroyed several structures, although many were rescued “because of the actions of firefighters who were on all night yesterday.”
The Angeles National Forest, which covers about 700,000 acres, is a popular open-air destination for millions living in the sprawling LA metropolitan area on its southern flanks.
In drought-stricken Colorado, the Grizzly Creek Fire, burning near Glenwood Springs, burned about 150 miles west of Denver, burning 6,251 acres, according to the Rocky Mountain Area Coordination Center. The blaze forced officials to close a 25-mile stretch of Interstate 70, the main east-west highway through the mountain entrance.
Firefighters had contained zero, and flames threatened a power plant and some residential subdivisions, authorities said.
Report and writing by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Additional Report by Peter Szekely in New York; Edited by Bill Tarrant, Tom Brown and Daniel Wallis
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