Los Angeles fire spread halted, work to
contain it continues
Send a link to a friend
[September 05, 2017]
By Peter Szekely
(Reuters) - Fire officials said on Monday
they had effectively stopped the uncontrolled spread of the largest
wildfire in Los Angeles history, with a little help from cooler weather,
but were still working to contain it.
Los Angeles Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas said crews had cleared brush away
from 30 percent of the perimeter of a fire that started four days
earlier and has consumed more than 7,000 acres (2,800 hectares). But he
stressed that firefighters were still largely at the mercy of the
weather.
“There’s really no active fire left," Terrazas told reporters. "That can
change, though, with the wind. Our goal today is to continue to increase
our containment percentage.”
Scattered rains, lighter winds, lower temperatures and higher humidity
have helped more than 1,000 firefighters in the air and on the ground
battle the blaze in the rugged northern edge of the city. The wildfire
claimed four houses and caused minor injuries among six firefighters.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Sep/05/images/ads/current/cca_laptop-sda021709.png)
The La Tuna Fire, named after the canyon area where it erupted on
Friday, forced the evacuation of more than 700 homes, as steady winds
helped it tear through thick brush that has not burned in decades and
temperatures hovered around 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius).
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said on Sunday afternoon that 90 percent
of the 1,400 people evacuated from their homes had returned and nearly
all would be back by the end of the day. Officials also reopened a
stretch of the 210 freeway that had been closed for days.
Terrazas said there was much work to be done, but stressed that
officials had already mapped out the remaining 70 percent of the fire's
perimeter that firefighters and bulldozers need to clear to keep it
fully contained.
[to top of second column] |
![](../images/090517pics/news_g13.jpg)
Water is dropped in Sun Valley during the La Tuna Canyon fire in Los
Angeles, California, September 3, 2017. REUTERS/ Kyle Grillot
![](../images/ads/current/richardson_lda_080217.png)
“We know what we need to do now, we just have to do it," he said.
Researchers believe the wildfire is the largest in terms of area in
the city's history, Terrazas said.
Los Angeles County, home to 10 million people and vast tracts of
undeveloped mountainous land, has suffered much larger wildfires
that have burned for weeks.
California Governor Jerry Brown on Sunday declared a state of
emergency for the county, which will ease the path for state and
federal help to fight the fire.
More than 400 miles (650 km) to the north, the so-called Ponderosa
Fire has burned 4,000 acres, or 1,600 hectares, and destroyed 32
homes in Butte County since it started on Tuesday, prompting
evacuation orders to residents of about 500 homes. The blaze was 64
percent contained on Sunday evening, up from 56 percent earlier in
the day.
(Reporting by Peter Szekely in New York; Editing by James Dalgleish)
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Sep/05/images/ads/current/brickey_lda_061314.png) |