SOUTHLAND UNDER SIEGE FIRE THREAT SPARKS CALL FOR MORE HELP.

Byline: Jason Kandel Staff Writer

With the potential of wildfires growing, extra fire personnel were activated Friday as a red-flag alert was raised for the weekend, with Santa Ana winds expected to send temperatures above the 100-degree mark.

Los Angeles County placed all firefighters on call; deployed 10 water trucks, 19 additional patrols, four bulldozers and 13 drivers; and placed them at five fire stations in some of the most rugged terrain in the region.

``With the Santa Anas, the high temperatures, high winds, low humidity and dry fuel out there, it can be particularly dangerous conditions for firefighters and citizens if a fire starts,'' said Los Angeles County Fire Department Capt. Mark Savage. ``We want to be able to hit it with all we have.''

Special county strike teams, made up of five engines and a battalion chief, have been assembled as mobile emergency responders.

Eight reserve engines have also been deployed, and officials have canceled all training and drills this weekend to keep as many firefighters available as possible.

The strike teams are posted at the Santa Clarita, Calabasas and East Los Angeles County stations as a precaution.

``They'll respond anywhere they're needed,'' Savage said.

Los Angeles city firefighters were also on alert, bracing for the heat. LAFD officials deployed extra engines to the Sunland, Woodland Hills, West Hills, Sherman Oaks and Laurel Canyon stations, and the Griffith Park and Pacific Palisades areas. Firefighters were busy checking and rechecking their equipment.

``We're just on the cusp,'' said Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Bill Wick. ``We're ready to pull the trigger right now.''

Members of the Topanga Canyon-based volunteer Arson Watch were out on patrol in the Santa Monica Mountains. There were no reports Friday of any fires in the local mountains, said Arson Watch spokesman Allen Emerson, but volunteers will remain vigilant.

``I wish I had more people out right now,'' said Emerson. ``It's very critical right now. We've got as many volunteers as we can muster patrolling the area.''

The increased fire patrols came as weather forecasters were predicting more triple-digit temperatures and high winds that could gust to 40 mph over the weekend.

``Hot, windy and clear,'' said Bill Hoffer, a weather specialist at the National Weather Service in Oxnard. ``This is your typical Southern California hospitality - Santa Ana conditions for the whole week.''

In Val Verde late Friday, near the Los Angeles/Ventura county line, erratic winds whipped flames through a rustic corner of the Santa Clarita Valley, coming close to houses. The fire, the third in the area in three days, started shortly after 1 p.m.

By Friday evening, more than 300 acres had charred the hillsides. One travel trailer was lost. No injuries were reported.

``It moves pretty fast with the wind, and then, when the wind dies down, it's fed by topography and fuel,'' said Los Angeles County fire Inspector Steve Cookus. ``It's one of the most dangerous kinds of fire because you never know which way the wind will shift.''

Near Burbank, officials closed a part of the Verdugo Mountains so they could continue their investigation into the cause of a fire in Wildwood Canyon that charred more than 80 acres.

Staff Writers Patricia Aidem and Susan Abram and wire services contributed to this report.

Jason Kandel, [phone]

jason.kandel(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

4 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) A Rancho Cucamonga resident hurriedly evacuates as the firestorm creeps upon her neighborhood Friday. Winds between 25 and 35 mph are forecast for today.

Therese Tran/Staff Photographer

(2 -- color) Firefighters are shrouded in ghastly smoke as the fire approaches their Etiwanda Avenue position in Rancho Cucamonga.

Will Lester/Staff Photographer

(3) Steve Steinberg, left, David Lichten, Patrick Nelson and Brad Davis, members of Arson Watch, are keeping an eye on the Santa Monica Mountains during the peak wildfire conditions.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer

(4) An L.A. County firefighter gets help from a bulldozer in controlling flames Friday afternoon in Val Verde.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News