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Los Angeles County fire fighters watch as the Station fire burns in the Acton area of Los Angeles, California - Source: Reuters -
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Firefighters battling a week-old wildfire raging in the
mountains near Los Angeles got their first big break from higher
humidity and cooler temperatures that helped them push towering
flames away from threatened homes.
More than 121,000 acres, or 48,000 hectares, have burned above the
heavily populated foothills 25 km north of downtown Los Angeles.
Some 6,300 homes are under evacuation orders and two firefighters
have died.
But the fire's growth has slowed and fire commander Mike Dietrich
said on Wednesday he was "a lot more optimistic."
"We are still at 5% containment. However, with firefighting
activity that occurred last night and the last several days, I
expect that will increase substantially today," Dietrich
said.
National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Mehle, who is assigned
to the fire, said the change in weather was due mostly to wind
patterns pulling in more damp air from northern Mexico and the Baja
region - a phenomenon called monsoonal moisture.
He said there may be an indirect benefit, too, from extra moisture
spun off from Hurricane Jimena, a Category 4 storm that drenched
the tip of the Baja Peninsula on Wednesday.
Potential downsides of the weather change, which arrived sooner
than previously forecast, were the likelihood of gusty winds that
had been largely absent since the fire began and the possibility of
dry lightning strikes that could ignite new blazes in dense brush
that has not burned in decades.
Fifty-three structures have been lost out of the 12,000 at risk in
the area. Mount Wilson, a hub of broadcasting towers and
telecommunications, as well as home to an historic observatory, was
still very much threatened, Dietrich said.
Two firefighters were killed on Monday when their position was
overrun by flames and their vehicle plunged 245 metres down an
embankment. Several other firefighters suffered minor injuries
trying to rescue them, authorities said.
At least three civilians also have been injured, two of them badly
burned when they were trapped by advancing flames after
disregarding evacuation orders.
Evacuations continue
Police continued to evacuate neighborhoods in the upper reaches of
the foothills on Wednesday, although firefighters were able to
conduct controlled burns overnight to push flames back into the San
Gabriel Mountains of the Angeles National Forest.
More than 3,600 firefighters battled the blaze with help from
water- and retardant-dropping aircraft. Despite progress in
controlling the fire, Dietrich said the crews working in 37 degrees
Celsius heat "are fighting for every foot."
So far, the cost to battle the so-called Station Fire has risen to
nearly $14 million, a worrisome figure for a state battling with a
ballooning deficit due to the poor economy.
This fire also comes before the most difficult months for wildfires
in California, from September to November, when fierce winds
increase the danger of big fires.
The cause of the Station Fire, the biggest of several wildfires
burning throughout the state, remains under investigation.
