Sand Fire Day 8: Immense Progress With 85% Containment [Friday Update]

LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CA – The Sand Fire was at 85 percent contained today after scorching more than 38,000 acres in the Santa Clarita area, destroying 18 homes and killing a man.

About 1,700 firefighters were on the lines working to knock down the blaze, which broke out a week ago today near Sand Canyon Road in Santa Clarita along the northbound Antelope Valley (14) Freeway. Relative humidity in the area was 30 to 35 percent overnight, according to the National Weather Service.

Among the crews fighting the blaze were personnel, and engines, from the Orange County Fire Authority.

As of this morning, the fire had scorched 38,873 acres, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

Meanwhile on Thursday in the nearby Palmdale area, a vehicle fire spread into brush near Lake Hughes and sparked a two-alarm blaze that scorched 25 acres, prompting some evacuations, authorities said. The fire was reported about 5:50 p.m. near the intersection of Spunky Canyon and Bouquet Canyon roads, east of Palmdale, the Los Angeles County Fire Department reported.

About 200 firefighters attacked the flames from the ground and air while evacuations were ordered in the Lost Valley area, a dispatcher said. The blaze was 60 percent contained and was not spreading as of 9 p.m. Thursday, a dispatcher said. It's unclear how many people were ordered out of the their homes.

In the Sand Fire, 18 homes were destroyed, along with a western town set on the Sable Ranch, a well-known filming location; one structure was damaged; two firefighters suffered minor injuries battling the flames, and one man was killed after apparently refusing an order to evacuate.

An estimated 20,000 people were evacuated as the fire raged, but most evacuation orders were lifted at 7 p.m. Monday. The orders remain in effect for residents of Little Tujunga Road from the Wildlife Waystation to Sand Canyon Road and Placerita Canyon Road, according to officials at the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station.

Only residents are allowed back into the areas where evacuations were lifted, so people are asked to show identification. Road closure have been reduced as of Thursday night. Members of the public can follow the latest announcements about the fire online at inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4878/.

Air quality could reach unhealthy levels in areas where there's smoke, according to the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

Sheriff's officials, meanwhile, warned people not to fly drones in the fire zone, noting drone incursions occurred last weekend, interrupting aerial firefighting efforts.

Los Angeles County Fire Department Chief Daryl Osby, appearing before the county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, said fire crews have managed to save "thousands of structures."

Osby said crews are still seeing "erratic fire behavior" amid stiff winds, but he said the vegetation fueling the fire was lighter as the blaze moved toward the Agua Dulce area, making it easier for crews to extend containment lines.

The Board of Supervisors ratified a local emergency declaration issued by the county on Monday. The declaration is the first step in acquiring state funding to help fire-recovery efforts. Hours after the board's vote on Tuesday, acting Gov. Tom Torlakson officially declared a state of emergency to free up state resources.
Torlakson, the state superintendent of public instruction, is acting governor while Gov. Jerry Brown and other state officials are attending the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

The Board of Supervisors also called for a report on the county's aerial firefighting fleet, including a discussion on whether it should purchase or secure a year-round lease on additional aircraft, including possibly a SuperScooper.

The county leases SuperScooper aircraft from Canada during fire season, but they are not expected to arrive in the area until September. Supervisor Michael Antonovich said the LACFD will receive an S-64F Helitanker HT-731 on Monday, two weeks earlier than expected.

The coroner's office identified a man who apparently refused orders to evacuate and whose burned body was found in a car in the driveway of a house in the burn area. The body of Robert Bresnick, 67, was discovered at 7:20 p.m. Saturday in the 26700 block of Iron Canyon Road, said coroner's Assistant Chief Ed Winter.
"Evidently, he did not want to evacuate," Winter said.

Following an autopsy, the cause of death was listed as the "consequences of extensive thermal burns," and the death was classified as an accident, Winter said.

Winter said Bresnick was visiting a friend at the location and had been advised by authorities to leave. The friend left, but Bresnick did not, Winter said.

The blaze has been fueled by triple-digit temperatures along with gusty winds and vegetation left dry by the region's five-year drought. Officials said some areas affected have not burned in decades, leaving terrain covered with dry chaparral.

Previous coverage:

• Sand Fire Day 7: Containment Improves Overnight To 65%; Regional Smoke Advisory In Place [Thursday Update]
• Sand Fire: More Drone Woes; State Of Emergency Issued; Animal Fundraisers Underway; Containment At 40% [Wednesday Update]
• Sand Fire Latest: Blaze Spreads, But Containment Improves [Tuesday Update]
• Sand Fire Latest: 10,000 Homes With 20,000 Residents Evacuated; 2,000 Houses Threatened

--City News Service contributed to this report/Image via FEMA ‏@fema