Wildfires ravage area near Los Angeles
Two massive wildfires raged in tinder-dry California hills and canyons Sunday, leaving thousands of homes evacuated and authorities to investigate a burned body found in a neighborhood swept by flames, AP reports.
- A plane drops fire retardant while battling the Soberane Fire in Carmel Highlands, California on July 23, 2016. The fire has scored more than 10,000 acres and threatens 1,650 structures according to Cal Fire. (AFP PHOTO / NOAH BERGER)
- Residents flee their home as flames from the Sand Fire close in on July 23 2016 near Santa Clarita, California. Fueled by temperatures reaching about 108 degrees fahrenheit, the wildfire began yesterday has grown to 11,000 acres. (AFP PHOTO / DAVID MCNEW)
- A firefighter hoses down burning pipes near a water tank at the Sand Fire on July 23 2016 near Santa Clarita, California. Fueled by temperatures reaching about 108 degrees fahrenheit, the wildfire began yesterday has grown to 11,000 acres. (AFP PHOTO / DAVID MCNEW)
- A firefighting helicopter drops water at the Sand Fire on July 23 2016 near Santa Clarita, California. Fueled by temperatures reaching about 108 degrees fahrenheit, the wildfire began yesterday has grown to 11,000 acres. (AFP PHOTO / DAVID MCNEW)
- Flames are reflected in a backyard swimming pool at the Sand Fire on July 23 2016 near Santa Clarita, California. Fueled by temperatures reaching about 108 degrees fahrenheit, the wildfire began yesterday has grown to 11,000 acres. (AFP PHOTO / DAVID MCNEW)
- Flames blown by strong winds close in on homes at the Sand Fire on July 23 2016 near Santa Clarita, California. Fueled by temperatures reaching about 108 degrees fahrenheit, the wildfire began yesterday has grown to 11,000 acres. (AFP PHOTO / DAVID MCNEW)
- Residents flee as flames close in on their homes at the Sand Fire on July 23 2016 near Santa Clarita, California. Fueled by temperatures reaching about 108 degrees fahrenheit, the wildfire began yesterday has grown to 11,000 acres. (AFP PHOTO / DAVID MCNEW)
- A helicopter drops water on the Soberane Fire in Carmel Highlands, California on July 23, 2016. The fire has scored more than 10,000 acres and threatens 1,650 structures according to Cal Fire. (AFP PHOTO / NOAH BERGER)
- A firefighting DC-10 912 flies low over homes at the Sand Fire on July 23 2016 near Santa Clarita, California. Fueled by temperatures reaching about 108 degrees fahrenheit, the wildfire began yesterday has grown to 11,000 acres. (AFP PHOTO / DAVID MCNEW)
- A firefighting helicopter drops water at the Sand Fire on July 23 2016 near Santa Clarita, California. Fueled by temperatures reaching about 108 degrees fahrenheit, the wildfire began yesterday has grown to 11,000 acres. (AFP PHOTO / DAVID MCNEW)
- Firefighters of the Texas Canyon Hotshot crew fight the Sand Fire at a residential golf course on July 23 2016 near Santa Clarita, California. Fueled by temperatures reaching about 108 degrees fahrenheit, the wildfire began yesterday has grown to 11,000 acres. (AFP PHOTO / DAVID MCNEW)
- A firefighter with the Texas Canyon Hotshot crew lights a backfire near homes to fight the Sand Fire on July 23 2016 near Santa Clarita, California. Fueled by temperatures reaching about 108 degrees fahrenheit, the wildfire began yesterday has grown to 11,000 acres. (AFP PHOTO / DAVID MCNEW)
- A picnic structure near a home burns during the Sand Fire on July 23 2016 near Santa Clarita, California. Fueled by temperatures reaching about 108 degrees fahrenheit, the wildfire began yesterday has grown to 11,000 acres. (AFP PHOTO / DAVID MCNEW)
- Flames lap at the wall of a home at the Sand Fire on July 23 2016 near Santa Clarita, California. Fueled by temperatures reaching about 108 degrees fahrenheit, the wildfire began yesterday has grown to 11,000 acres. (AFP PHOTO / DAVID MCNEW)
- A firefighter reaches for the door of his truck as flames close in on homes at the Sand Fire on July 23 2016 near Santa Clarita, California. Fueled by temperatures reaching about 108 degrees fahrenheit, the wildfire began yesterday has grown to 11,000 acres. (AFP PHOTO / DAVID MCNEW)
- A resident flees in a motor home as flames close in at the Sand Fire on July 23 2016 near Santa Clarita, California. Fueled by temperatures reaching about 108 degrees fahrenheit, the wildfire began yesterday has grown to 11,000 acres. (AFP PHOTO / DAVID MCNEW)
- Firefighters hose down burning pipes near a water tank at the Sand Fire on July 23 2016 near Santa Clarita, California. Fueled by temperatures reaching about 108 degrees fahrenheit, the wildfire began yesterday has grown to 11,000 acres. (AFP PHOTO / DAVID MCNEW)
- Inmate handcrew firefighters shield themselves from embers and heavy smoke as flames close in on houses at the Sand Fire on July 23 2016 near Santa Clarita, California. Fueled by temperatures reaching about 108 degrees fahrenheit, the wildfire began yesterday has grown to 11,000 acres. (AFP PHOTO / DAVID MCNEW)
- A burned pirate sculpture stands at the end of Iron Canyon Road off of Sand Canyon in Santa Clarita, Calif., on Sunday, July 24, 2016. Two massive wildfires raged in tinder-dry California hills and canyons Sunday, leaving thousands of homes evacuated and authorities to investigate a burned body found in a neighborhood swept by flames. Firefighters have been trying to beat back a fire since Friday that has blackened more than 34 square miles of brush on ridgelines near the city of Santa Clarita and the Angeles National Forest. (AP Photo/Matt Hartman)
- A maker at the entrance of the Angeles National Forest burns on Saturday, July 23, 2016. Hundreds of county and Angeles National Forest firefighters battled the blaze, aided by three dozen water-dropping helicopters and retardant-dropping airplanes. The fire erupted Friday afternoon in the Sand Canyon area of suburban Santa Clarita near State Route 14 as the region was gripped by high heat and very low humidity. Winds pushed it into the adjacent Angeles National Forest. (AP Photo/Ryan Babroff)
- A wildfire burns close to a home near Sand Caynon and Placerita Caynon in Santa Clarita, Calif., Saturday, July 23, 2016. Hundreds of county and Angeles National Forest firefighters battled the blaze, aided by three dozen water-dropping helicopters and retardant-dropping airplanes. The fire erupted Friday afternoon in the Sand Canyon area of suburban Santa Clarita near State Route 14 as the region was gripped by high heat and very low humidity. Winds pushed it into the adjacent Angeles National Forest. (AP Photo/Ryan Babroff)
- A helicopter drops water on the Sand Fire near Wildlife Waystation on Little Tujunga Canyon Road, Calif., on Saturday, July 23, 2016. (Katharine Lotze/The Santa Clarita Valley Signal via AP)
- The Sand Fire burns near Wildlife Waystation on Little Tujunga Canyon Road on Saturday, July 23, 2016. (Katharine Lotze/The Santa Clarita Valley Signal via AP)
- Wildlife Waystation volunteers watch the Sand Fire burn near their facility in Santa Clarita, Calif., on Saturday, July 23, 2016. A wildfire burning in the mountainous Angeles National Forest north of Los Angeles has grown to more than 17 square miles. Judy says the Wildlife Waystation, a private sanctuary for rescued exotic animals, is being evacuated. The Wildlife Waystation has about 400 animals on 160 acres within the national forest. (Katharine Lotze/The Santa Clarita Valley Signal via AP)
- A car covered in aerially-applied fire retardant remains parked in Ruthspring Dr., in Santa Clarita, Calif., on Sunday, July 24, 2016. Two massive wildfires raged in tinder-dry California hills and canyons Sunday, leaving thousands of homes evacuated and authorities to investigate a burned body found in a neighborhood swept by flames. Firefighters have been trying to beat back a fire since Friday that has blackened more than 34 square miles of brush on ridgelines near the city of Santa Clarita and the Angeles National Forest. (AP Photo/Matt Hartman)
- A wildfire burning near in Bear Divide in the Angeles National Forest, Calif., Saturday, July 23, 2016. Hundreds of county and Angeles National Forest firefighters battled the blaze, aided by three dozen water-dropping helicopters and retardant-dropping airplanes. The fire erupted Friday afternoon in the Sand Canyon area of suburban Santa Clarita near State Route 14 as the region was gripped by high heat and very low humidity. Winds pushed it into the adjacent Angeles National Forest. (AP Photo/Ryan Babroff)
- Firefighters hose down the remains of a burned home in Sand Canyon area near Santa Clarita, Calif., on Sunday, July 24, 2016. Two massive wildfires raged in tinder-dry California hills and canyons Sunday, leaving thousands of homes evacuated and authorities to investigate a burned body found in a neighborhood swept by flames. Firefighters have been trying to beat back a fire since Friday that has blackened more than 34 square miles of brush on ridgelines near the city of Santa Clarita and the Angeles National Forest. (AP Photo/Matt Hartman)
The brush fire raging in the Santa Clarita Valley grew to more than 22,000 acres overnight as firefighters struggle to gain control of the wildfire amid a brutal heat wave, the LA Times reports.
The blaze, first reported at 2 p.m. Friday, grew to nearly 5,500 acres by Saturday morning, then exploded by late evening as the winds began to shift, pushing flames closer to homes in a Santa Clarita neighborhood that abuts the Angeles National Forest, fire officials said.
So far, 18 structures have been destroyed and another damaged in the Bear Divide and Sand Canyon areas, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. One fatality has been reported, but it is not yet clear if it is fire-related.
Assisted by fixed-wing aircraft and water-dropping helicopters, more than 1,600 firefighters continue to battle to get ahead of the blaze. But the fire remains only 10% contained.
Decades without a major fire and years of drought left the valley primed for a fast-moving fire that was fueled by “excessive heat, low humidity, extreme dry fuels that have not burned for several decades,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich said during a news conference Saturday.
“Five years ago, if we had a similar fire, we would have probably caught [it] at the ridge,” Los Angeles County Fire Department chief Daryl L. Osby said during the news conference.
A woman said her husband had seen a burned horse carcass during his morning walk and a man described the scene as looking like Armageddon.
Nearby, Ascension Perez Salorio paced the restaurant, hoping for answers. He turned to a woman and asked, “Did my home burn down?”
Nobody knew.
Since evacuating his home on Little Tujunga Canyon Road late Friday, Salorio said he hasn’t gotten any updates.
“All we can do now,” he said, “is wait.”