Schools cancel classes as California fires rage
LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Schools in the eastern suburbs of Los Angeles canceled classes Monday as a raging brush fire swept through local mountains and canyons and forced the evacuation of at least 400 homes.
All Sierra Madre schools, both public and private, will be closed Monday, authorities announced, predicting that if the weather continued to cooperate, the blaze could be fully contained only in four to seven days.
Meanwhile, helicopters and planes were dumping water and fire retardant on the blaze -- the first major fire of the dreaded summer fire season -- which since Saturday has consumed 350 acres (140 hectares) in foothills near California's Santa Anita Canyon about 15 miles (25 kilometers) from downtown Los Angeles.
Officials said that battling the northern section of the fire was more difficult because it was burning up steep slopes through thick brush inaccessible to bulldozers.
Elisa Weaver, a spokeswoman for the Arcadia Fire Department, told AFP that 200 homes had been evacuated Saturday night and another 200 early Sunday.
"This is a mandatory evacuation. We do not want people to wait until the last minute and then have to leave as fire trucks are moving up the roads," Weaver added.
Two firefighters were slightly injured, The Los Angeles Times reported, citing Sierra Madre Fire Department Battalion Chief Michael Bamberger.
But while there were no injuries among the affected population, firefighters remained concerned that the ferocity of the blaze -- fueled by an ongoing southern California heat wave that has seen temperatures rise to 98 degrees Fahrenheit (37 Celsius) -- could threaten more residents living closer to Los Angeles.
"This is not a lazy fire. This fire is burning with some energy," Bamberger told a news briefing.
"I was waiting for the possibility of more evacuations, although it looks like we're making good progress tying off the southern end of the fire near the city's northern boundary, which is where more homes are located," Bamberger said, adding that no homes had been burned.
About 1,000 people have left their homes, as roughly 400 firefighters battled the blaze, which was just five percent under control.
Weaver said the early season brushfire, which started along a day-use trail in an area popular among picnickers and hikers, had cut off an exit route for a wedding party that was to take place at a mountain campground.
The wedding party, consisting of 45 people and four pets, had to be lifted out by helicopter to a campground at Chantry Flats, according to the spokeswoman.
"They are 3.5 miles (six kilometres) away from the fire and are in no danger," Weaver said.
Southern California is frequently hit by scorching wildfires due to its dry climate, Santa Ana winds and recent housing booms in suburban and wooded areas.
Last October, devastating wildfires were among the worst in Californian history, leaving seven people dead, destroying 2,000 homes, displacing 640,000 people and causing one billion dollars in damage.
