Firefighters are making progress on a fast-moving wildfire that broke out Sunday night near homes in suburban Santa Clarita. Both the Los Angeles County Fire Department and Los Angeles National Forest crews responded to the fire, and evacuation orders for the bike fire remain in effect.
A state emergency intelligence aircraft mapped about 170 acres of the fire around 4 p.m. Angeles National Forest officials said the fire was 12 percent contained at around 4:45 p.m.
Earlier, smoke was visible over the rugged hills on the city’s southeast side around 1:20 p.m., Watch Duty users reported. An hour later, as the fire grew, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department ordered residents to evacuate.
Los Angeles County has set up an evacuation shelter at College of the Canyons (26455 Rockwell Canyon Road) in Santa Clarita and an animal shelter at the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds (2551 W. Ave. H) in Lancaster.
The Los Angeles National Forest posted on Facebook that both the U.S. Forest Service and the Los Angeles County Fire Department sent aircraft to fight the blaze, including a Super Shovel.
The remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel brought rain and harsh ocean conditions to much of Southern California, damaging homes in Newport Beach and flooding the Coachella Valley. However, preliminary readings from the National Weather Service showed no rain in Santa Clarita.