San Gabriel Complex Fire: Evacuation Lifted for Some in Duarte, Containment Still at 10 Percent

Duarte, CA — Residents in 534 homes evacuated by the San Gabriel Complex Fire in Duarte will be allowed to return home at noon Wednesday, officials said.

Duarte residents who live north of Royal Oaks Drive between Encanto Parkway and Greenbank Avenue will be allowed to return home at noon. The residents will need to show identification before they are allowed in, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Cmdr. David Halm said.

All other evacuations remain in effect.

"When you do return home at noon, please remember that security will be a priority with the deputies that are there at the barricades," Halm said. "There obviously is going to be a lot of people trying to get back into the area, so please have patience with those deputies. They've been out there working very hard to keep those homes safe."

No large vehicles, such as trailers, RVs, horse trailers or other oversized vehicle will be allowed back in, he said. Fire crews still need to move equipment in the area, and they need clear passage ways, he said.

The fires are 10 percent contained Wednesday morning and are holding at 4,900 acres burned. The Fish Fire has charred 1,200 acres, and the Reservoir Fire burned 3,700 acres, according to the Angeles National Forest. Though the fires haven't merged — they are about two miles apart — they are collectively known as the San Gabriel Complex Fire.

Authorities revised the burned acreage down from 5,400 earlier because the smoke had died down and fire officials can go in and get an accurate assessment, Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Mike McCormick told Patch on Tuesday.

There are still more than 1,000 firefighters on the line fighting the fire. A cooling onshore flow was helping firefighters Wednesday morning, but strong winds, with gusts up to 20 to 20 mph, were expected for Wednesday afternoon, Southern California Incident Management Team 3 commander Mike Wakoski said.

"They're working the fire hard, and they're making sure there's not going to be any issues later on," Wakoski said. "The weather is supposed to warm, so we're trying to get a line around it right now, but it's real difficult with the topography to get the crews in."

The western flank of the fire is the major concern for firefighters now, as it is the closest to homes in the area.

"We're focusing on the perimeters around the housing areas, around the communities that are affected with the fires that are up deep within the forest," Los Angeles County Deputy Fire Chief Vince Pena said. "There is still a threat that remains on those housing areas."

Officials are still warning residents in Monrovia and the Bradbury community to continue to have an evacuation plan ready to go if an evacuation order comes.

Authorities have evacuated 858 homes, including 326 homes in Azusa, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

The city of Duarte on Tuesday declared a local emergency in response to the fires, and late Monday night, the Federal Emergency Management Agency granted the state's request for emergency assistance in the Fish Fire.

"The Regional Administrator of FEMA Region IX has determined the Fish Fire threatened such destruction as would constitute a major disaster," the agency said in a statement to Patch.

At the time of the request, the Fish Fire was threatening 525 homes, three sets of 220 kilovolts power transmission lines and a 2.5 million water storage/distribution tank, the agency said.

Officials at the California Independent System Operator are also monitoring the situation, an agency spokeswoman, Anne Gonzales, told Patch on Monday. Some Southern California Edison transmission lines were down, and a few Los Angeles Department of Water and Power lines are being threatened, but there was no threat to grid reliability at this time, she said.

FEMA will now provide funding for up to 75 percent of eligible firefighting costs, the agency said.

More than 12,000 people were evacuated because of the fires, and more residents were being asked to prepare for possible evacuations on Tuesday morning, authorities said.

The initial fire, dubbed the Reservoir Fire, started Monday when a pickup truck crashed off Highway 39 near Morris Dam and started a brush fire. The driver was killed in the crash and ensuing fire. The fire quickly grew to more than 1,500 acres in a matter of hours.

The fire was burning uphill in extremely steep terrain with heavy vegetation, Angeles National Forest Fire Chief Robert Garcia said.

About 90 minutes later, another fire, dubbed the Fish Fire, started above Duarte, near homes. That fire quickly grew to more than 1,200 acres.