A fast-moving brush fire broke out in Santa Clarita, in Los Angeles County, on Wednesday afternoon, burning about 30 acres and prompting a large ground and air firefighting response. According to LA County Fire, the blaze, named the Point Fire, erupted near the 21000 block of Center Point Parkway and spread quickly through dry brush on steep terrain in the area.
The fire was first reported in the early afternoon, and within roughly an hour it had grown to around 30 acres. LA County Fire, working as the lead agency alongside the city fire department, said crews had been called to a brush fire and moved quickly to try to keep the flames from reaching the neighbourhoods that sit near the burning ridge line.
Authorities issued an evacuation warning, though stopped short of a mandatory evacuation order, for a zone near the flames identified as SCL Carl Boyer. A fire official urged residents in the area to treat the warning seriously, to prepare a go-bag with their irreplaceable items and to position their vehicles so that they could leave quickly by the single route out of the neighbourhood if conditions were to worsen.
A substantial aerial assault was mounted against the fire. According to a LA County Fire spokesman, crews had several aircraft working the blaze, including two tankers each capable of carrying about 3,000 gallons of water and two Fire Hawk helicopters carrying roughly 1,000 gallons each, making repeated drops on the flames as the afternoon wore on and more aircraft cycled through the area.
On the ground, the response was equally heavy. According to the spokesman, it included fire engines, water tenders acting as mobile hydrants, hand crews and bulldozers. The dozers were cutting a fire break down to mineral soil, a line intended to stop the fire from spreading out of the burned area, a tactic meant to work in tandem with the coordinated aerial and ground attack to bring the blaze under control.
The firefight unfolded under punishing conditions. According to officials, an extreme heat warning was in place across much of Los Angeles County, with temperatures near 99 to 100 degrees in Santa Clarita on what had been forecast as the hottest day of the week. One factor working in the crews' favour, they said, was the absence of significant winds, which helped prevent the flames from racing beyond the perimeter.
For the moment, officials reported no structures lost and did not report any injuries, saying the homes below the ridge line had been protected even though the flames had erupted close to some of them. A spokesman said crews were beginning to get a handle on the fire, aided by units that had been strategically prepositioned around the county in anticipation of the heat wave the region has been living through.
As the firefight continued, the blaze grew in size. According to updated figures, the Point Fire had reached around 58 acres, larger than the roughly 30 acres reported when it first broke out. Footage from a news helicopter over Santa Clarita showed crews continuing to make progress as aircraft dropped water on the brush fire. Officials said the flames, which a little earlier had been burning right up next to structures, were no longer immediately next to those buildings, though firefighters remained on scene working to keep the fire in check.