Crews making progress on containing Bike Fire; Santa Clarita residents praise firefighters
Crews make progress in Santa Clarita fire response
Crews have made progress in slowing the spread of the Bike Fire near Santa Clarita. Strong winds fueled the fire and brought flames within feet of some homes.
LOS ANGELES COUNTY, Calif. - Firefighters made progress battling the wind-driven Bike Fire near Santa Clarita, with the blaze estimated at 172 acres and 68% contained on Sunday night.
What we know:
The fire grew rapidly Sunday afternoon, burning more than 100 acres in about an hour and threatening homes as crews attacked the flames from the air and on the ground.
"This wind is blowing, tremendously high right now," resident Bob Kellar said.
Local perspective:
Resident Dave Lyznick said the flames came within feet of his home.
"The flames were leaping up on my property. Had a lot of trees that were on fire," Lyznick said.
The fire burned as remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel brought flooding and damaging surf to other parts of Southern California, including the Long Beach coast.
But in the Santa Clarita area, residents described dry, windy conditions as the fire spread.
"What tropical storm? The only tropical storm I saw was on the applications on the phone," Lyznick said. "I didn’t see any anything coming down."
When asked whether he had seen any rain, Lyznick responded, "No, none. This would have been a whole different story."
Kellar, who recalled the devastating Sand Fire, said he appreciated the firefighters working to protect the community.
"I remember very well the Sand Fire, we lost 18 homes, 1 life. So I appreciate everyone coming out and doing their best to prevent that," Kellar said.
Firefighters worked to establish containment lines, using chainsaws to clear brush on the ground while helicopters battled the flames from above.
By Sunday night, evacuation orders and warnings had been downgraded to advisories, as firefighters made progress containing the blaze. Residents were encouraged to continue monitoring official updates for changes to evacuation information.
Lyznick praised the crews working to protect homes.
"The experts behind me, above me, and on the ground just absolutely amazing. I wasn’t sure I was going to have a house to come home to," he said.