Fires

Oat Mountain burning above Porter Ranch *

* Update: All Los Angeles TV new stations are live on the fires.

A fast-moving new fire has erupted in the Santa Susana Mountains and is laying down smoke on the residential area of Porter Ranch, at the north end of the west San Fernando Valley. Channel 2 says the flames are being blown down hill from Oat Mountain toward the homes. Meanwhile, the fire that began yesterday in Little Tujunga Canyon jumped the containment lines over night and has reached Foothill Boulevard in at least one spot. It has scorched 3,200 acres, with the wind gusting again. Homes in Lake View Terrace and Sylmar have been creeping further up into the brush in recent decades, and those are the developments most threatened. Smoke is becoming a problem for residents in both areas, and the American Lung Association has posted tips for people in the fire areas.

Updates from media reports:
* The eastern fire is called the Marek Fire, the new one above Porter Ranch to the west is the Sesnon Fire.
* The 210 freeway remains closed between I-5 and the Glendale Freeway. The eastbound 118 is closed between I-5 and the 210. Traffic is being allowed to move on the southbound 14, where two small fires also broke out in the Canyon Country area. 11:25 am.
* Nine LAUSD schools have been closed in the fire areas. Sylmar and San Fernando high schools are open to evacuees and are still holding classes.11:42 am
* TV reporters are talking a lot about the water drops missing their marks due to the wind. 11:44 am
* Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, at the live press conference, just raised the specter of a widespread regional fire and alerted people way downwind in Bell Canyon and other communities to be alert. 11:52 am
* Mayor Villaraigosa confirms one fatality in the city of Los Angeles portion of the Marek fire, "on or about Foothill Boulevard." No name or circumstances released. He says no structures have been lost in the city portion. 11:55 am
* The Hansen Dam evacuation facility for horses is full, per Councilwoman Wendy Greuel. Politicians are cycling through the podium at the press conference.11:58 am
* Fire chiefs recap: 3,750 acres burned on the Marek fire, 500 acres at the Sesnon fire. An unknown number of mobile homes were destroyed in Los Angeles County territory at the Marek fire, especially at the Sky Terrace Mobile Home Lodge in Lopez Canyon. 1,200 homes are evacuated. 12:03 pm
* The death occurred at Foothill Blvd. and Paxton Street and appears to be a transient male who was caught in a cardboard and wooden structure, a coroner's official says. 12:06 pm



More by Kevin Roderick:
Standing up to Harvey Weinstein
The Media
LA Times gets a top editor with nothing but questions
LA Observed Notes: Harvey Weinstein stripped bare
LA Observed Notes: Photos of the homeless, photos that found homes
Recent Fires stories on LA Observed:
Biggest Los Angeles brush fire was actually in 1938. And more.
Biggest maybe, but not close to the worst LA brush fire
Sand Fire grows overnight to 35,000 acres
Fire evacuations in Calabasas. Channels 4 and 7 on live
Auto junk yard burns Sunday in the Valley
Bad, bad night in Middletown (video)
Shirtless man discovers TV reporters are hot, asks for a date (video)
Glendora fire still active overnight, at 1700 acres


 

LA Observed on Twitter