Multiple fires break out in L.A. County amid hot, dry conditions
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At least three fires broke out in Los Angeles County on Friday afternoon amid hot and dry conditions that are expected to persist through the weekend.
In Palmdale, firefighters battled a 300-acre brush fire near North 35th Street East and East Avenue Q. In the Angeles National Forest, the Fork fire ignited and quickly grew to 250 acres in the East Fork area above Glendora, emitting a giant smoke plume that was visible for miles.
That area is popular with hikers and those looking to swim in the San Gabriel River, making the situation particularly dangerous. Video posted to the social media site X showed campers along the river as smoke billowed behind them.
Another heat wave is expected to bring dangerously hot temperatures across California’s interior this weekend.
Angeles National Forest spokeswoman Dana Dierkes said that two people were treated for potential smoke inhalation and that people were evacuated from the East Fork of the San Gabriel River and from the parking lot area at the East Fork Trailhead.
She could not say how many people were evacuated, but they were all recreationalists. Residents of the area have been allowed to stay.
As of Friday evening, the fire was burning toward the Sheep Mountain Wilderness, Dierkes said. Firefighters from multiple agencies are on the scene, as well as seven air tankers and eight helicopters.
The Los Angeles Fire Department also was responding to a 43 -acre brush fire between the 210 Freeway and La Tuna Canyon Road in Tujunga.
“In terms of fire potential, we just saw a few pop off in the last hour or two,” Bryan Lewis, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Oxnard, said Friday afternoon.
A heat warning is in effect through Wednesday for the Antelope Valley and the mountains of Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties, with temperatures potentially reaching 106 degrees. Low humidity is expected to persist at least through the weekend.
The coastal plain and valleys are expected to be cooler.
Although hot and dry conditions make it easier for fires to start, Lewis said conditions haven’t yet been severe enough to issue a red flag warning.
As of 5 p.m. Friday, firefighters in Palmdale had made progress on what was dubbed the Deer fire. Jeremy Stafford, dispatch supervisor with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, said there was no visible fire left and crews were checking to see if any hot spots remained.
In Tujunga, officials said that firefighters had stopped the fire’s forward progress as of 7:39 p.m. Friday and would be working throughout the night.
In Angeles National Forest, the Fork fire forced the closure of Glendora Ridge Road, as well as East Fork Road between Highway 39 and Glendora Mountain Road.
“Our goal is to put this fire out as quickly as possible,” Dierkes said.
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