Several brush fires broke out across the Los Angeles area on Monday afternoon, sending crews scrambling to multiple locations as the region baked under triple digit heat and gusty winds. The flare ups came as weather officials warned of elevated fire risk through the week, with the hot and dry conditions leaving inland areas especially vulnerable to fast moving flames.
One of the fires, described as a rock fire in the Fairmont neighborhood, grew to about 100 acres. Aerial coverage showed a structure on fire and a patch of ground already blackened by the flames, underscoring how quickly the blaze had spread across the dry terrain in the area.
A separate fire broke out near Stevenson Ranch, around Santa Clarita, in a blaze that became known as the Max fire. It had burned at least 35 acres, with officials warning it could grow to around 100 acres within the hour, giving firefighters a second front to contend with at the same time. Crews mounted aerial water drops while building containment lines by hand, clearing brush to deny the fire additional fuel, and appeared to be gaining the upper hand even as the flames had flared up quickly.
Crews were battling the fires in punishing conditions, with temperatures in the triple digits and winds adding to the difficulty. Earlier in the response, large numbers of firefighters and engines had been committed to the effort, and authorities had signaled that evacuation orders could follow as the flames threatened homes in some of the affected areas.
The wind was a particular worry, especially around the high desert. Forecasters said gusts were topping 20 miles per hour, with the Lancaster area expected to stay windy throughout the week. The wind was generally blowing from the west southwest, a direction that was not expected to change much heading into the evening.
There was some relief in the forecast, with wind speeds expected to ease overnight. Near Santa Clarita, gusts that had reached 10 to 15 miles per hour over the previous hours were forecast to come down, and the high desert was also set to calm somewhat, though it was expected to remain more gusty than usual through the overnight hours. Weather officials cautioned that the elevated fire danger would persist across the region all week.