Fires force frantic evacuations

2008-10-14 07:34

Los Angeles - Two huge wildfires driven by strong Santa Ana winds burned into neighbourhoods near Los Angeles on Monday, forcing frantic evacuations on smoke- and traffic-choked highways, destroying homes and causing at least two deaths.

Around sunset, residents were warned to stay on alert during the night and winds more than 97km/h were forecast.

More than 1 000 firefighters and nine water-dropping aircraft battled the 1 900h Marek Fire at the northeast end of the San Fernando Valley, and the 2 000h Sesnon Fire at the west end.

Winds blew up to 72km/h with gusts reaching 113km/h at midday. They were forecast to diminish in the evening before roaring over 97km/h after 23:00.

"This fire has the real potential of moving from where it is now ... as far as Pacific Coast (Highway)," said Los Angles County Fire Chief P Michael Freeman.

Residents downwind were warned to remain alert into the night. "It can go from here to the ocean in a matter of two to three hours," said Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky.

Authorities confirmed more than three-dozen mobile homes burned at the Marek Fire and TV news helicopter crews counted about 10 homes destroyed by the Sesnon Fire. Both fires also consumed commercial sites.

'It is a blowtorch we can't get in front of'

Firefighters were struggling with the resurgent, day-old Marek Fire when the new blaze erupted at midmorning a few kilometres to the west.

"It is a blowtorch we can't get in front of," said Los Angeles County fire Inspector Frank Garrido.

Fire officials alerted other communities to the west in the Ventura County city of Simi Valley and south to Malibu, 32km away, as an ominous plume streamed over neighbourhoods and far out to sea.

Residents were not allowed to drive into one of Porter Ranch's gated communities because officials wanted to keep roads clear for emergency vehicles. Instead they parked their cars, ran to their homes and carried out whatever they could carry in pillow cases, in their arms, sacks and suitcases. Some ran out clutching paintings.

Freeman warned people not to stay home after evacuation orders had been given. "You may not be able to even outrun this fire," he said.

A man was killed in a four-vehicle crash on the nearby 118 Freeway. California Highway Patrol Officer Leland Tang said traffic had stopped because firefighters were going by as fire neared the route. At some point, motorists stopped on the freeway because of the flames and CHP officers turned them around to use an on-ramp as an exit, said CHP Captain JD Goodwin.

Earlier, a fatality was discovered at the Marek Fire, an area where neighbourhoods abut rugged canyonlands below the mountainous Angeles National forest. The man appeared to have been a transient living in a makeshift shelter, officials said.

About 1 200 people evacuated due to the Marek Fire, which was just five percent contained.

'This is what we feared the most'

Mobile home park resident Glenn Bell said he and another park resident broke a padlock on an emergency exit gate to escape at daybreak. "If we hadn't broke open that gate, there would be people dead up there," he said.

Olive View-UCLA Medical Centre moved five of its most fragile patients to other hospitals. Spokesperson Carla Nino said the four newborns and the fifth patient were on ventilators and were the most difficult to transport. Some other patients were discharged but the hospital decided it was not necessary to evacuate about 180 others.

The dry and warm Santa Ana winds typically blow between October and February. As they whistle through Southern California canyons and valleys, they accelerate, drying out vegetation and hastening the spread of any fires that erupt.

"This is what we feared the most," Los Angeles County fire Captain Mark Savage said. "The winds that were expected - they have arrived."

The South Coast Air Quality Management District advised on Monday that air quality may be bad due to the fires and urged people to avoid outdoor activities.

The Red Cross said about 500 people registered at an evacuation centre at San Fernando High School.

Most schools in the area were closed on Monday.

In San Diego County, a wildfire that began on an explosives training range at Camp Pendleton forced the evacuation of a military housing area and 100 nearby homes in Oceanside.

Firefighters also contained smaller blazes elsewhere in southern California.

In northern California, a blaze charred more than half of San Francisco Bay's largest island but spared scores of historical structures, including an immigration station that was the first stop for millions of immigrants, mostly from China, in the early 1900s. The Angel Island wildfire was about 75% contained.

- AP