Firefighters gain on LA blaze

2008-10-15 16:25

Los Angeles - A respite in Santa Ana winds allowed firefighters to beat back flames that continued to whirl dangerously close to homes on Wednesday morning along the northwestern suburbs of Los Angeles.

Fire crews spent Tuesday night unleashing loads of water on hot spots of the more than 50km² blaze charring slopes above the San Fernando Valley.

Flames also pushed west into Ventura County and threatened homes in Simi Valley.

The fire, one of three major blazes that have burned 90km² of Southern California, was 20% contained late on Tuesday night.

Firefighters hoped for winds to remain calm through Wednesday.

Winds in the area were expected to peak at about 24km/h on Wednesday morning then taper off for the rest of the day.

"We'll have to wait and see what Mother Nature brings us," Ventura County fire spokesperson Tom Kruschke said.

In a hectic start this week to the wildfire season, blazes have destroyed dozens of homes, forced thousands of people to evacuate and caused two deaths.

One man died in the flames, and a motorist was killed in a crash as a fire neared a freeway.

- AP