CANYON IN FLAMES RESIDENTS GATHER UP PETS AND FLEE.Byline: Bhavna Mistry Staff Writers SAUGUS - Flames churned by erratic winds roared Wednesday through a rugged Saugus canyon, terrifying ter·ri·fy tr.v. ter·ri·fied, ter·ri·fy·ing, ter·ri·fies 1. To fill with terror; make deeply afraid. See Synonyms at frighten. 2. To menace or threaten; intimidate. ranchers who struggled to save their panicked horses and pets, as firefighters worked relentlessly to save their homes. San Francisquito Canyon, where Santa Clarita's housing tracts are fast closing in on one of the area's last rustic communities, was in chaos as firefighters faced the charging walls of flame. The blaze broke out about 2:30 p.m. and by evening had burned several thousand acres. The fire continued out of control over brush parched parch v. parched, parch·ing, parch·es v.tr. 1. To make extremely dry, especially by exposure to heat: The midsummer sun parched the earth. by drought. Eight structures, including numerous outbuildings, were destroyed and at least two firefighters were injured. Meanwhile, the Wolf fire, which started Saturday north of Ojai in nearby Los Padres National Forest Los Padres National Forest is a forest located in southern and central California, which includes most of the mountainous land along the California coast from Ventura to Monterey, extending inland. Elevations range from sea level to 8,831 feet. , had burned 8,880 acres by Wednesday, officials said. Four uninhabited ranch structures were destroyed in the Wolf fire. The fire in San Francisquito Canyon on Wednesday came dangerously close to 10 homes on the hillsides off Lady Linda Lane, where firefighters staked watch and doused flames that approached. ``Everything else is a mess, but the house is still here,'' said Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County Fire Capt. Gary Striano, who was in the area from a La Mirada La Mirada (lä mĭrä`də), city (1990 pop. 40,452), Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1960. La Mirada derives from the Spanish for "the view," referring to the panoramic view of the surrounding valleys from atop the city's hills. fire station. Samantha Bryant wept as she stood and watched the flames surround her home. ``It hadn't gotten over the hill and within half an hour it was here,'' the 15-year-old said. ``It was 10 feet away from our house.'' Her mother had brought her down and then went to save their animals. It was several terrifying minutes before her mother returned - one dog in the car, another following besides her. It was a bittersweet bittersweet, name for two unrelated plants, belonging to different families, both fall-fruiting woody vines sometimes cultivated for their decorative scarlet berries. reunion as they hugged at the side of the road. ``I had to let the horses out,'' said Bryant's mother Marilyn Slaera. ``I can't leave them there.'' At the Spangler Ranch, where fire jumped over San Francisquito Canyon Road, firefighters quickly put out a small spot before moving down the road where more flames roared. ``We got to move ahead,'' a firefighter said, as he quickly boarded a firetruck. Rick Jameson, along with his friends Brian Bennett Brian Laurance Bennett (born 9 February 1940, in Palmers Green, North London, England) is a drummer, pianist, composer, arranger and record producer of popular music. He is best known as the drummer of the UK rock and roll group, The Shadows. and Frank Schittini, boarded their tractors and all-terrain vehicles and grabbed their hand shovels to help assist firefighters and camp crews by spreading dirt over hot spots hot spots acute moist dermatitis. . ``They got to keep moving. They have their priorities,'' Jameson said, riding on the back of a three-wheel bicycle. ``It's not a big deal to use a shovel, but they saved this guy's house.'' Veteran firefighters used such terms as ``hellacious hel·la·cious adj. 1. Distasteful and repellant: hellacious smog. 2. Slang Extraordinary; remarkable: a hellacious catch of fish. ,'' ``insane'' and ``intense'' to describe the fire as it raged first one direction, and then the opposite. ``The wind did move really quickly,'' said Brian Jordan, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Fire Department Not to be confused with Los Angeles Fire Department. The Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD), serves unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County, as well as 58 cities and towns that choose to have the county provide fire and EMS services, including the City of La . ``It's typical that the wind will shift out here. Anything that's not burning can change and burn right in their faces.'' Eight airplanes, four helicopters, up to 50 fire engines, 500 firefighters and 12 camp crews worked on the fire continuing through the late evening. One firefighter suffered heat exhaustion heat exhaustion, condition caused by overexposure to sunlight or another heat source and resulting in dehydration and salt depletion, also known as heat prostration. The symptoms are severe headaches, weakness, dizziness, blurred vision, and sometimes unconsciousness. . The cause of the fire is under investigation, official said. Adding to the fire's uncertainty was anxiety as scores of residents were blocked from heading home. Agnes Ferreyra and her husband own a hobby shop in the canyon. The couple's three dogs were trapped there and a frantic Ferreyra was stuck at a roadblock. ``I'm worried for them,'' she said. ``They won't let us go back.'' The flames burned around Ruiz Cemetery, the resting place of a number of local residents who perished when the St. Francis Dam The St. Francis Dam was a concrete gravity-arch dam, designed to create a reservoir as part of the Los Angeles Aqueduct. The dam was located 40 miles (64 km) northwest of Los Angeles, California, near the city of Santa Clarita. collapsed in 1928. The torrent of an estimated 15 billion gallons of water gushed down the canyon, destroyed everything in its path to the Pacific. More than 500 perished. ``Ruiz Cemetery started after the dam collapsed. Many buried there died in the collapse,'' said Frank Rock, a local resident and historian who gives tours of the area. ``Almost all of the people buried there are relatives of Native Americans. ``There are stone monuments, wooden crosses, some pepper trees in the cemetery. The stone monuments would survive (the fire) pretty well, but I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. about the crosses.'' Staff Writers Amy Raisin and Heather MacDonald contributed to this report. A version of this story appears in Main News. CAPTION(S): 4 photos, map Photo: (1 -- color) A firefighting helicopter makes a drop along San Francisquito Canyon Road to stem a brush fire's advance Wednesday. (2 -- color) Firefighters retreat from flames moving north along the 30600 block of San Francisquito Canyon Road in Saugus. (3) Neighbors react with anguish at losses from Wednesday's fire, which burned mostly outbuildings but threatened home. (4) A firefighter can only watch as flames consume a storage shed in San Francisquito Canyon. David R. Crane/Staff Photographer Map: San Francisquito Canyon fire |
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