CASTAWAYS, TOPANGA FIRES ARE CONTAINED CREWS REMAINING VIGILANT FOR WIND-FANNED EMBERS.Byline: Dana Bartholomew and Jason Kandel Staff Writers Firefighters fully contained two menacing wildfires Tuesday - one in Burbank and the other along the Ventura-Los Angeles county line - but were worried that Santa Ana winds Santa Ana Winds may refer to: 1. Santa Ana wind, a local Southern California reference to Föhn winds, a meteorological phenomenon occurring as a layer of wind is forced over a mountain range -- drying the air -- which then passes over the crest and begins to move downslope -- could fan embers in the smoldering smol·der also smoul·der intr.v. smol·dered, smol·der·ing, smol·ders 1. To burn with little smoke and no flame. 2. burn zones. ``We're still concerned about the wind, because it threatens our containment,'' said Kurt Schaefer, a spokesman for five agencies fighting the 24,000-acre Topanga Fire, ``It's (still) a lot of work.'' Firefighters said it would be another week before the last embers were snuffed and the Topanga and Burbank fires declared officially dead. By 6 p.m., more than 1,300 firefighters had encircled en·cir·cle tr.v. en·cir·cled, en·cir·cling, en·cir·cles 1. To form a circle around; surround. See Synonyms at surround. 2. To move or go around completely; make a circuit of. the brush fire in the hills within Los Angeles and Ventura counties that had scorched scorch v. scorched, scorch·ing, scorch·es v.tr. 1. To burn superficially so as to discolor or damage the texture of. See Synonyms at burn1. 2. more than 24,000 acres and destroyed three houses and 35 vehicles. Despite a new burst of Santa Ana winds, firefighters managed to close the last remaining gap in the Topanga Fire at Las Virgenes and Chesebro canyons, fire officials said. Two helicopters, fighting gusts up to 50 mph, made water dumps throughout the day. As backup, engines were stationed in Bell Canyon, Simi Valley, Woodland Hills, Calabasas and Fire Station 36 in Oak Park. Throughout the week, thousands of residents and animals had fled fires from Burbank to Calabasas along the Verdugo and Santa Susana mountains The Santa Susana Mountains are a transverse range of mountains in southern California, north of the city of Los Angeles, in the United States. The range runs east-west separating the San Fernando Valley and Simi Valley on its south from Santa Clara River Valley to the north and . Fueled by brush thickened thick·en tr. & intr.v. thick·ened, thick·en·ing, thick·ens 1. To make or become thick or thicker: Thicken the sauce with cornstarch. The crowd thickened near the doorway. 2. by record rains and Santa Ana winds that threatened to carry embers across the Ventura Freeway into the 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. hills of Malibu, the Topanga Fire choked the skies and rained ash across Los Angeles. At its peak last week, more than 3,000 firefighters from 100 agencies fought the blaze. ``It won't be completely snuffed out till Oct. 13,'' said Joe Luna of the Ventura County Fire Department Not to be confused with Ventura Fire Department. The Ventura County Fire Department (VCFD) provides fire protection and emergency response services for the unincorporated areas of Ventura County, California, and for six other cities within the county. , from the fire command post in Thousand Oaks. ``You're looking at an area nearly 15 miles long and seven miles wide. ``There are a lot of burning embers in there, and the wind is picking up.'' The cost of the Topanga Fire soared Tuesday to $14.4 million. Meanwhile, about 30 firefighters worked on the remnants of a 1,100-acre fire in the Verdugo Mountains, dubbed the Castaways Fire after the landmark Burbank restaurant close to where the blaze started last week. They mopped up hot spots hot spots acute moist dermatitis. and remained alert for potential flare-ups as the Santa Anas kicked up. The fire was contained as fire crews used helicopters equipped with infrared cameras to spot embers on the Verdugo Mountains' La Tuna Canyon side. No homes were damaged or threatened. ``There's still heat up there, but we've got it surrounded,'' said Capt. Ron Bell of the Burbank Fire Department. Bell said firefighters would man 100 feet around the perimeter for days until the last embers had burned themselves out. The cost of fighting the fire could amount to as much as $4 million, but officials said much of the cost could be offset by federal and state grants. Also Tuesday, officials reported that the Stough Canyon Nature Center survived the fire but that many hiking trails will be closed at least through this week. Dana Bartholomew, (818) 713-3730 dana.bartholomew(at)dailynews.com |
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