IN THE AFTERMATH LIFE RESUMES DESPITE CLOSE CALL.Byline: SUE DOYLE Staff Writer SANTA CLARITA -- The smell of smoke hung heavy in the air Tuesday in Placerita Canyon, now charred and fuming fuming /fum·ing/ (fum´ing) emitting a visible vapor. fum·ing adj. Producing or emitting smoke or vapor, as for certain concentrated nitric, sulfuric, and hydrochloric acids. from Monday's arson that burned more than 500 acres. Blackened black·en v. black·ened, black·en·ing, black·ens v.tr. 1. To make black. 2. To sully or defame: a scandal that blackened the mayor's name. 3. stretches of land sat dead and still, ending just feet away in some cases from the sprawling ranches and estates along Placerita Canyon Road where many residents had fled with their belongings and pets just 24 hours earlier from the unpredictable fire that had skipped across their street and threatened their lives. Fire crews on Tuesday hosed down 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. hot spots hot spots acute moist dermatitis. that pocked pock n. 1. A pustule caused by smallpox or a similar eruptive disease. 2. A mark or scar left in the skin by such a pustule; a pockmark. tr.v. the vast canyon. By Tuesday afternoon, the fire was 70 percent contained and still under investigation. 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 officials said the blaze was intentional. But life resumed its otherwise normal pace in the sleepy rural canyon, where horses and donkeys roam. Homeowners unpacked the treasures they had loaded earlier in their cars and swept away heaps of ash and debris from their yards. Crews from power, cable and phone companies repaired damaged lines. Condors and other black-winged birds circled high above, surveying their property losses and looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. their nests that once rested safely in the now petrified pet·ri·fy v. pet·ri·fied, pet·ri·fy·ing, pet·ri·fies v.tr. 1. To convert (wood or other organic matter) into a stony replica by petrifaction. 2. trees. Resident Shannon Bonfanti kept an eye on the birds and the smoke still trailing into the sky around them. It was 8:30 a.m. when she returned home after fleeing the fire on Monday with her family and horses. Now she pointed at the hazy hillsides with concern. ``I'm afraid to unload the car. What if I have to load it all up again? That scares me,'' Bonfanti said. In their rush out of the house, the family had accidentally left a window open. Now their home reeked of smoke, and Bonfanti wondered how long the smell would last as she put her home back together. She rehung a 2-foot family picture on the wall. It was a photo taken a few years back of her family in bare feet, dipping their toes in a creek. It was her only belonging that she could not live without. ``Forget everything else. I can replace the rest. I can't replace this,'' she said as she touched its white frame and looked at the photo. Down the street, Cindy Jensen cleaned up broken twigs off the street and scooped them into a recycling bin. She never left her house during the blaze but had stacked a few things by her front door just in case she had to evacuate. A fireman had told her she was safe but to be ready to leave in a minute's notice. With her cable TV out on Monday, Jensen watched from her window what her next-door neighbors were doing during the fire. If they left, she would, too. She watched the trees and if this tree or that tree burned, she'd get out. If flames touched the street, she'd drive off. Although the fire came dauntingly daunt tr.v. daunt·ed, daunt·ing, daunts To abate the courage of; discourage. See Synonyms at dismay. [Middle English daunten, from Old French danter, from Latin close to her house, flames never touched it. So she stayed at home. ``I gave myself a five-minute range,'' she said. sue.doyle(at)dailynews.com (661) 257-5254 CAPTION(S): 5 photos Photo: (1 -- color) A donkey peers from behind a fence along Sand Canyon Road late Monday as the Cross Fire crests a ridge. (2 -- 4 -- color) A bulldozer, left, completes a fire line around homes. Above, a long-abandoned home site stands in contrast to charred remains of wildlife. Top, firefighters mop up hot spots Tuesday. (5) A cyclist pedals past scorched earth scorched earth An antitakeover strategy in which the target firm disposes of those assets or divisions considered particularly desirable by the raider. Thus, by making itself less attractive, the target discourages the takeover attempt. along Placerita Canyon Road where the Cross Fire charred more than 500 acres. David Crane/Staff Photographer |
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