One man dies as wind-driven Los Angeles wildfire forces 100,000 to flee

California Governor Gavin Newsom declared localized emergencies for the counties of Los Angeles and Riverside, which was dealing with a smaller blaze than the one in Los Angeles. Water-dropping helicopters and airplane tankers loaded with flame retardant fought the Los Angeles blaze from the air as ground crews battled at close range with hand tools and bulldozers, while firefighters lugging hoses from house to house scrambled to protect threatened neighborhoods. Their efforts were paying off. Although 31 structures were damaged or destroyed, fire officials said their crews managed to save thousands of dwellings while carving containment lines around 13 percent of the fire’s perimeter. US Representative Brad Sherman told he was among residents who fled as flames approached. “I left a bit earlier than most because I was watching the news and the moment they posted on the internet that I was in the mandatory evacuation area, I was out,” Sherman said by mobile phone as he walked back to check on his home in the Porter Ranch suburb. The conflagration was stoked by strong, dry Santa Ana winds blowing into Los Angeles from desert areas to the east. Those winds were moving flames at a rate of 800 acres (325 hectares) per hour at the fire’s height, city fire officials told a morning news conference. “This is a very dynamic fire,” Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas told reporters, urging residents in harm’s way to heed evacuation orders. “Do not wait to leave.” The cause of the blaze was under investigation.

‘DON’T BE FOOLED’

Los Angeles County Fire Chief Deputy Dave Richardson cautioned that an apparent lull in fire activity on Friday afternoon should not create a false sense of security. “Don’t be fooled,” he said. “There’s a lot of potential for additional growth of this fire.” Some 23,000 homes and around 100,000 residents were under mandatory evacuation orders from the Saddleridge fire early on Friday. Many evacuees were left to wonder whether their homes were still standing. By Friday evening, the Los Angeles Fire Department said it was lifting evacuation orders for some areas farthest from the flames. The community of Porter Ranch remained under mandatory evacuation orders. The upscale suburb lies adjacent to a natural gas storage field where a wellhead rupture caused a massive methane leak in 2015 that forced nearby residents from their homes on and off for months. The blaze was also threatening a number of transmission lines owned by Southern California Edison, utility spokeswoman Susan Cox said. Several freeways were closed at the outset of the blaze. Thick clouds of smoke billowing from the blaze drifted across a wide swath of northern Los Angeles, causing air quality problems that prompted the city school district to close dozens of public schools throughout the San Fernando Valley. Los Angeles County Fire Captain Tony Imbrenda told radio station KPCC that high winds had hampered the ability to fight the flames from the air, sometimes causing dissipation of water and fire-retardant drops before they could hit the ground. Mountains and other areas in Los Angeles and Ventura counties were under a “red flag” alert for heightened fire danger until Saturday evening, the National Weather Service said.