Evacuations Ordered as 2 Wildfires Quickly Burn 2,200 Acres in San Gabriel Mountains

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Firefighters are battling a pair of fast-moving brush fires that consumed more than 2,000 acres the San Gabriel Mountains, prompting evacuations, as triple-digit temperatures hit the region Monday afternoon.

Flames burned up to the base of transmission towers in the San Gabriel Mountains on June 20, 2016. (Credit: KTLA)

The first blaze erupted shortly after 11:15 a.m. along Highway 39 by the Morris Dam after a vehicle went over the side of the road, according to a Los Angeles County Fire Department official.

That fire, burning above Azusa, grew to 1,200 acres in about three hours. Dubbed the Reservoir Fire, the blaze prompted the evacuation of San Gabriel Canyon, a popular recreation destination, according to the Angeles National Forest.

Azusa police told the areas of Mountain Cove and Rainbow Ranch to evacuate immediately just before 1:30 p.m. An emergency alarm was sounded in Mountain Cove, where evacuations were mandatory, according to Azusa police.

A brush fire burns along a hillside above Duarte on June 20, 2016. (Credit: KTLA)

Soon after the Reservoir Fire broke out, another blaze started less than 4 miles away, above homes in neighboring Duarte. That fire was being called the Fish Fire and it grew to 1,000 acres by about 2:45 p.m.

Authorities on scene said they were concerned winds would cause the two wildfires to merge into one large fire.

Evacuation orders were issued for homes north of Fish Canyon between Encanto Parkway and Greenbank, and well as homes on Brookridge, the city of Duarte announced. The orders were voluntary, the Sheriff’s Department said.

An evacuation center was set up at Duarte City Hall, 1600 Huntington Drive.

Macelda Ramos and her three daughters packed up their vehicle with belongings and were getting ready to leave their home along Tall Pine Drive in Duarte Monday afternoon.

“We’re not taking any chances — we’ve been through this before,” she said, explaining that her family’s house burned down in 1979. “We just want to make sure we have our pictures and things that mean a lot to us.”

The Fish Fire was burning in the Duarte area on June 20, 2016. (Credit: KTLA)

The Fish Fire erupted in the area of Brookridge Road and Opal Canyon roads in Duarte. It was on the border of the county Fire Department’s jurisdiction with the Angeles National Forest.

It was not known what sparked the Fish Fire, which initially appeared to be burning near homes and power lines, Sky5 video showed.

Both transmission and distribution lines were threatened, a spokesman for Southern California Edison said. About 105 customers were without power due the fire in Duarte, Edison spokesman Robert Villegas said.

As intense flames and thick black smoke spread through the area, a person with a hose near a home on the flaming hillside was apparently attempting to defend a home, aerial footage showed. Police vehicles showed up on the road a short time later, and helicopters appeared to be dropping water and fire retardant in the area.

Stables at the Encanto Equestrian Center in Duarte burn during the Fish Fire on June 20, 2016. (Credit: KTLA)

Horse stables at the Encanto Equestrian Center were in flames, which spread uphill, away from structures, video from Sky5 showed.

The Duarte Unified School District is closely monitoring the fire, which was burning north of Valley View and Royal Oaks Elementary schools, the district said in a statement.

School is not in session, and no students were at either campus, according to the district. Staff members were instructed to evacuate.

No details about the car crash that started the Reservoir Fire were immediately provided, and authorities have not said whether any injuries or fatalities were reported.

The Reservoir Fire was burning in the Angeles National Forest rugged, steep terrain, primarily fueled by brush and chaparral, with extreme heat cited as a major concern, according to the federal InciWeb page for the wildfire.

The U.S. Forest Service was battling the flames by air and by ground, utilizing helicopter and airtankers to combat what they described as “extreme fire behavior.”

The brush fires broke out on the hottest day of a heat wave in Southern California; the triple-digit temperatures coupled with lower humidity levels had prompted the National Weather Service earlier in the day to warn of extreme fire danger in the region through Tuesday.

It was 112 degrees in the the Morris Dam area just after noon, with humidity at 8 percent, according to the National Weather Service. A southwest wind of 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high 15 mph in the evening, was forecast.

The two fires were burning in the same general area as last year’s Cabin Fire, which erupted Aug. 14 roughly 3 miles north of Highway 39 and Rincon-Red Box Road, according to the wildfire’s InciWeb page. The Cabin Fire scorched 1,723 acres.

Edited June 20, 2016 by worthy