Multiple brush fires erupt across LA County as powerful Santa Ana winds fuel red flag conditions
LOS ANGELES - Multiple brush fires erupted across Los Angeles County on Thursday as powerful Santa Ana winds and rising temperatures whipped up critical wildfire conditions across the region.
Red Flag Warning
What we know:
National Weather Service forecasters issued Red Flag Warnings through 8 p.m. Saturday, warning that damaging wind gusts—reaching up to 75 mph in mountain areas—and humidity dropping into the single digits create an extreme risk for rapid fire growth.
To lower the risk of power lines sparking new blazes, Southern California Edison initiated public safety power shutoffs for thousands of LA County residents, with tens of thousands more facing potential outages.
The critical weather conditions quickly materialized into real threats on Thursday afternoon, keeping local fire crews busy on multiple fronts:
Peak Fire
The Peak Fire burning in the Azusa area broke out Thursday at 1:15 p.m. in the area of San Gabriel Canyon Road and Mirador Drive and Ranch Road. As of 1:50 p.m., the fire had grown to 22 acres. Water-dropping aircrafts were dispatched to assist in protecting structures north of San Gabriel Canyon Road, in the area of Foxtail and Poppyglen courts.
At 2 p.m., evacuation orders and warnings were issued for the following zones. Officers are going door to door in the Mountian Cove community evacuating residents.
Evacuation Order:
- AZU-MC01
Evacuation Warning:
- AZU-ABC01
- AZU-CYN01-A
- AZU-NOB01
- AZU-QRY01
- LAC-E168
- LAC-E170
Visit Project Genasys for a map of evacuation orders and warnings.
Evacuation center
An evacuation center has been created at the Memorial Park Recreation Center at 340 N. Orange Place in Azusa.
Road Closure
There is a hard closure for Highway 39 at Sierra Madre as crews work to evacuate residents.
Tujunga Fire
The Tujunga Fire was reported around 12:45 p.m. in the area of 6341 W. La Tuna Canyon Road, south of the 210 Freeway.
According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, the fire burned about an acre of medium-to-heavy brush. Due to strong winds, the flames were spreading at a moderate rate, the department said.
No structures were threatened and no injuries were reported.
Los Angeles County Fire Department resources were also deployed.
Crews battle fire in Tujunga
LAFD and LA County firefighters are working to contain a fire that sparked Thursday afternoon south of the 210 Freeway near La Tuna Canyon Road.
The Source: Information for this story came from LA County Fire, Los Angeles Fire Department, and the National Weather Service.