SPARKS SET OFF FIRE AREA'S BIGGEST BLAZE IN DECADES BEGUN BY WELDING CREW.Byline: Amy Raisin and Greg Botonis Staff Writers ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST The Angeles National Forest (ANF) was established by executive order on December 20, 1892 as the San Gabriel Timberland Reserve. It covers over 2,600 km² (650,000 acres) and is located in the San Gabriel Mountains of Los Angeles County, just north of the metropolitan area of Los - Sparks from a construction crew's welding operation ignited the San Francisquito Canyon brush fire that has 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. more than 23,000 acres, the area's biggest fire in decades, authorities said Friday. The crew was working Wednesday for the Newhall County Water District atop a massive water tank north of the Saugus intersection of McBean Parkway and San Francisquito Canyon Road, when strong winds carried sparks into 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. vegetation. ``They were doing a welding operation on top of a water tank so they were already up high,'' said Martin Esparza, spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service. ``It was entirely accidental. They took all the precautions but the wind was probably a direct factor. ``Our investigators went to the site and contacted the people there. There likely won't be any criminal charges, but there may be some cost-recovery issues.'' The blaze has destroyed seven homes and more than a dozen outbuildings, and has split off three in different directions - heading toward Green Valley, Lake Hughes and Leona Valley - aided by winds as high as 25 mph. Some 2,000 firefighters, helicopters and tankers were fighting it. About 1,200 people were evacuated Thursday night from Green Valley. Sheriff's deputies in patrol cars began driving through Leona Valley, Lake Elizabeth Lake Elizabeth may refer to
Department of Water and Power employee Steve Blucher, his wife and 13-year-old daughter were preparing Friday for their second evacuation in two days. They fled their Green Valley home Thursday to stay with friends in Lake Hughes, then were packing up Friday to go stay with relatives in Quartz Hill. They packed family photographs, their dog, cat and two parakeets parakeets one of the bird groups known as typical parrots in the family Psittacidae. Small parrots with long tails and include the budgerigar. , plus a rocking horse made for their daughter when she was a baby - and their truck, Honda Civic The Honda Civic is a compact car manufactured by Honda. It was introduced in July 1972 as a two-door coupe, followed by a three-door hatchback version that September. With the transverse engine placement of its 1169 cc engine and front-wheel drive, like the British Mini, the and Blucher's 1966 Plymouth Barracuda The Plymouth Barracuda, or 'Cuda (after 1970), is a two-door coupe/convertible muscle car that was manufactured by the Plymouth division of the Chrysler Corporation from 1964 through 1974. . ``We just grabbed things you really couldn't replace,'' Blucher said. ``We moved once, so I guess we'll just move again.'' In Leona Valley, retiree Betty Merthser had packed her Saturn compact with photo albums, a bird cage Bird´ cage´ n. 1. A cage for confining birds. , boxes of documents and other belongings, including a lacquered table sticking out of the trunk. ``I just 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. what to do,'' said Merthser, who was near tears as she stood on the front lawn of the small house she has lived in for six years. ``I'm scared to death. How do I decide what to take when I've got a lifetime of stuff here?'' Green Valley evacuee e·vac·u·ee n. A person evacuated from a dangerous area. Noun 1. evacuee - a person who has been evacuated from a dangerous place migrant, migrator - traveler who moves from one region or country to another Allison Connett arrived Thursday night at a temporary Red Cross shelter set up at Highland High School Highland High School or Highlands High School may refer to: In the United States:
``I feel nervous, scared. It's scary to watch the news,'' Connett said. Connett's truck driver husband, Mitch, is also a volunteer firefighter in Green Valley and was helping Thursday to battle the fire, she said. ``He's up there fighting the fire. I talked to him a little bit. He's OK,'' Connett said. Overnight, firefighters, bulldozers and prison and jail camp crews dug a fire line three or four miles long between the fire advancing over Jupiter Mountain and Green Valley. Firefighters set ``back fires'' to try to burn the fuel in front of the advancing flames. Air tankers and helicopters were sent in Friday morning to pinch in the sides of the fire, trying to narrow the head - the fire's leading point, of which the San Francisquito Canyon fire had three by Friday. Firefighters were able to stop the advancing flames deep in the canyon about noon Friday with fire-retardant foam, which was sprayed around homes in Green Valley. ``They were able to turn the corner on that, which is good news,'' Forest Service spokeswoman Kathy Peterson said. Animal control officers picked up more than 70 farm animals in Green Valley, including 48 horses, a mule and four potbellied pigs. Horses and other large animals were being taken to the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds n. pl. 1. same as fairground. . ``We are working closely with the Fire Department trying to determine where to go so we can stay ahead of the fire,'' Animal Control spokeswoman Kaye Michelson said at a Lake Elizabeth staging area, surrounded by a dozen animal control trucks. County probation officials evacuated Camps Munz and Mendenhall outside Lake Hughes, trucking 200 teen-age camp inmates, staffers, medical records, files and supplies to Challenger Memorial Youth Center in Lancaster. The department set up a 24-hour hotline at (661) 940-4122 for worried parents and legal guardians to call. Staff Writer Karen Maeshiro contributed to this story. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) An air tanker drops a load of fire retardant fire retardant Public health A chemical used to resist combustion, which may contain polybrominated biphenyls and antimony oxide along the hillsides of Green Valley whiel fighting a blaze started by a construction crew. David R. Crane/Staff Photographer |
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