MANY GET TO HEAD HOME FIREFIGHTERS CONTROL GIANT TOPANGA FIRE.Byline: Josh Kleinbaum Staff Writer Thousands of anxious evacuees Resident or transient persons who have been ordered or authorized to move by competent authorities, and whose movement and accommodation are planned, organized and controlled by such authorities. returned to their homes Friday in neighborhoods charred by the stubborn Topanga Fire as firefighters grabbed control of the 21,000-acre blaze. Calmer winds, lower temperatures and rising humidity allowed the 2,700 firefighters waging an aerial and ground assault to contain roughly 20 percent of the fire, which extended from Chatsworth to Calabasas along the 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 . ``I wanted to give the house a big hug,'' said Allen D'Ornellas, who was forced from his Box Canyon home soon after the fire began Wednesday afternoon and didn't know until Friday morning whether it had survived. In fact, scorch marks showed that flames came within spitting distance of D'Ornellas' back yard, but his house itself was untouched, except for an oatmeal-like substance firefighters sprayed on it for protection. ``Yeah, we got slimed,'' D'Ornellas said. ``It's probably a good thing.'' Officials lifted the evacuation order for neighborhoods along the southern and western edges of the fire - Oak Park, Lake Manor, Mont Calabasas, Mountain View and Bell, Box and Woolsey canyons. Areas near the Simi Hills The Simi Hills are a low rocky mountain range in Southern California. Geography Simi Hills is located on the western edge of the San Fernando Valley, United States. They run east-west and they extend 26 miles east-west, and 7 miles north-south. , including Runkle Canyon, remained off-limits to residents. Residents who returned to Bell Canyon found themselves in harm's way harm's way n. A risky position; danger: a place for the children that is out of harm's way; ships that sail into harm's way. again late Friday as hot spots hot spots acute moist dermatitis. reignited in the underbrush. ``The mountain right in front of us is on fire right now,'' said Gina Eckstein, who moved into her home two months ago. ``The feeling (when we returned home) was relief, but now we're wondering if we came back a little too early. ``But because the firemen have done such a phenomenal job, we're really feeling very safe and secure.'' Despite the intensity of the flames, only two homes were destroyed - one in Box Canyon, the other on Santa Susana Santa Susana can refer to several places:
Two firefighters suffered relatively minor injuries - one hit in the back by a boulder and another who hurt his ankle, officials said. In a 20,000-acre fire, officials considered the small number of injuries and damaged properties a victory. ``It's really amazing,'' said 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 Deputy Chief Michael Bryant There have been several well-known people named Michael Bryant, including:
``It's a credit to the firefighters that they went into very dangerous areas and they went in and provided structure protection to a lot of homes, and they did a great job.'' The fire broke out about 1:45 p.m. Wednesday north of the Ronald Reagan Freeway at Topanga Canyon Boulevard. Driven by shifting 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 -- , it quickly spread through the hills and canyons along the Los Angeles-Ventura county line. Firefighters from around the state focused on protecting structures and building fire lines, while helicopters and airplanes tried to douse douse 1 also dowse v. doused also dowsed, dous·ing also dows·ing, dous·es also dows·es v.tr. 1. To plunge into liquid; immerse. See Synonyms at dip. 2. the flames from above. By Friday morning, onshore breezes from the Pacific Ocean brought cooler temperatures and higher relative humidity relative humidity n. The ratio of the amount of water vapor in the air at a specific temperature to the maximum amount that the air could hold at that temperature, expressed as a percentage. , making conditions easier for firefighters. With the improved conditions, the unified command opted to use a direct attack on the fire, bringing fire lines and bulldozers directly to the flames. Firefighters fortified fortified (fôrt  ´fīd),adj containing additives more potent than the principal ingredient. lines in the most critical area - a southern line ensured that the fire would not jump the Ventura Freeway and shoot down into Malibu. More than 1,000 prisoners working on firefighting detail performed much of the dirty work, using hatchets, axes and bulldozers to clear brush. Still, crews had 15 additional miles of fire Miles of Fire/The Burning Miles (Russian: Огненные вёрсты, Ognennye Versty, 1957), is an early Red Western by Samson Samsonov. lines to build over the coming days. By Friday night the fire was only 20 percent contained, and firefighters did not expect full containment until Monday night at the earliest. Officials said the cost of battling the fire was nearing $3 million, and that estimate was expected to rise. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger paid a visit Friday to the command center in Thousand Oaks, where he thanked firefighters for their hard work. ``From what I have seen, I'm very impressed, I'll tell you,'' Schwarzenegger said. ``What you have here is a huge fire that has now burned 21,000 acres. A fire that has taken 3,000-plus firefighters fighting this fire day and night. ``And I want to say thank you very much to the great firefighters. They're doing such a heroic job working day and night to put this fire out, and they have it almost under control. ``There is property that was destroyed, homes and other structures,'' he said. ``Some of them were damaged. And there is, of course, a lot of land that was burned because of the fire. But like I said, 20 percent of the fire is under control.'' Josh Kleinbaum, (818) 713-3669 josh.kleinbaum(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 9 photos, box Photo: (1 -- 2) Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, left, shakes hands with firefighters at a press conference at Conejo Creek Park on Friday. Above, Anaheim firefighters Khairi Ali and Capt. Dave Young get some rest while helping out in West Hills. Tina Burch/Staff Photographer Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer (3 -- color) Bell 412 (4 -- color) Sikorsky S-70 Firehawk (5 -- color) Bell 209 Cobra (6 -- color) CL-415 Super Scooper (7 -- color) Grumman S-2T (8 -- color) Erickson Air Crane (9 -- color) Night vision goggles goggles, n the protective eyewear worn by dental personnel and patients during dental procedures. goggles see periocular leukotrichia. Box: FIREFIGHTERS IN THE SKY SOURCE: Daily News research Gregg Miller/Staff Artist |
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