Evacuations, Freeway Closures Triggered By 3 LA County Brush Fires

LOS ANGELES, CA — Three brush fires broke out across Los Angeles County Friday afternoon, scorching hundreds of acres, shutting down Foothill (210) Freeway lanes and prompting evacuations.

LA TUNA FIRE

A fire burned approximately 43 acres of vegetation alongside the Foothill (210) Freeway in Tujunga Friday before its progress was stopped with containment increasing to 40%.

Firefighters responded to the blaze burning along the eastbound side of the freeway near La Tuna Canyon Road around 4:10 p.m. The fire was burning in "light to medium" brush, with flames burning at a moderate rate, according to Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman Lyndsey Lantz.

``All forward progression on this brush fire has been stopped... Crews will be working throughout the night to continue containment efforts," Lantz said in a statement.

LAFD firefighters were joined by Los Angeles County Fire Department personnel in the attempt to quell the flames, with crews working from the air and ground.

The Sunland Boulevard on-ramp, La Tuna Canyon Road off-ramp, and the No. 3 and 4 lanes of the eastbound Foothill Freeway will all be closed for the next 24 hours and drivers are encouraged to find alternate routes, Lantz said at 10:05 p.m.

It was unclear what may have sparked the fire.

Traffic on the eastbound side of the freeway slowed to a crawl, as crews blocked two lanes to accommodate the firefighting equipment.

There were no reports of injuries or structural damage.

FORK FIRE

A large brush fire in the Angeles National Forest above Glendora was still 0% contained Saturday after burning 330 acres, authorities said.

The Fork Fire was reported around 3:30 p.m. Friday in the area of Glendora Mountain and East Fork roads, sending up a large plume of smoke and spreading rapidly near popular camping and hiking areas.

By Saturday morning, the fire was burning toward the Sheep Mountain Wilderness. Over 200 personnel were committed to the firefighting effort including the Angeles National Forest, Los Angeles County Fire Department, Ventura County Fire Department, California Highway Patrol, Cal Fire and Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

People have been evacuated from the East Fork of the San Gabriel River, but no residents had been evacuated as of Saturday morning.

Highway 39, East Fork Road, Glendora Ridge Road and Glendora Mountain Road were closed.

At the onset of the fire, crews on the scene requested medical teams to treat a young child with possible burn injuries and smoke inhalation. However, they later reported no patients at the scene. No further details were immediately available. Crews also requested air support to search for a group of juveniles who were seen in the area ahead of the fire.

The cause of the fire was not clear.

DEER FIRE

Amid high heat and gusting winds, a brush fire raced across nearly 300 acres of brush Friday in Palmdale, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or structural damage.

The Deer Fire was reported around 2:30 p.m. in the area of North 35th Street and Avenue Q, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

Initially reported at about 10 acres, the flames advanced quickly through the grass and had grown to around 100 acres by 3 p.m. Less than an hour later, it was estimated at 300 acres.

The fire went to a second alarm as incident commanders requested additional resources to the scene.

Crews on the scene reported shortly before 4 p.m. that good progress was being made on slowing the advance of the flames. Updated mapping late Friday afternoon put the fire's size at 272 acres.

The National Weather Service reported that the temperature in Palmdale was roughly 102 degrees at the height of the blaze, and winds near the fire were blowing at 24 mph, gusting to 36 mph.

City News Service, Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.