BACKCOUNTRY FIRE IN FOREST CONTAINED.

Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Staff Writer

ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST - The Angeles National Forest's first large fire of 2002 blackened more than 130 acres of backcountry brush and timber before firefighters contained it.

With spring temperatures rising into the 90s, more than 240 firefighters battled the blaze from Saturday afternoon through Monday morning, when the blaze was declared contained and crews started leaving for other assignments.

``We do have a line around the entire fire. Once we've got every hot ash out, they will call it controlled,'' said Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Brian Jordan.

The fire started at the edge of a small campground at Atmore Meadows in Fish Canyon, on a dirt road about eight miles west of Lake Hughes and 12 miles north of Castaic.

Investigators were trying Monday to determine the fire's source, but they did not say if it might have been caused by a campfire or vehicle.

The fire burned chaparral and pine trees in an area that was heavily vegetated, officials said.

``It hasn't burned for over 50 years,'' Angeles National Forest spokeswoman Gail Wright said.

The nearest structures to the fire were a radio tower and electronics gear on 5,702-foot Burnt Peak, just east of the fire. The equipment was not damaged, Wright said.

Experts were sent out to determine if any archaelogical sites were damaged. The area south of the fire contains a number of old mines and the remains of American Indian encampments.