GLENDORA, Calif.—Firefighters were facing another day of extreme heat July 21 as they battled a sizeable brush fire in the Angeles National Forest in Los Angeles County.
The Fork Fire was 30 percent contained Sunday morning after burning 330 acres. Authorities reported minimal burning overnight.
On Sunday, two Forest Service Hotshot crews were being flown in to the upper portion of the fire and planned to stay overnight to “help minimize travel time and safety concerns due to the extremely steep terrain,” according to Cal Fire. The state agency was fighting the fire with assistance from the Angeles National Forest, Los Angeles County Fire Department, Ventura County Fire Department, California Highway Patrol, and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Firefighters planned to continue improving the fireline and expected to increase containment Sunday. Temperatures are expected to approach 100 degrees with low relative humidity between 8 and 20 percent. Winds were expected to gust up to 18 mph in the afternoon and evening hours.
The fire was first 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. People have been evacuated from the East Fork of the San Gabriel River, but no residents had been evacuated as of Sunday morning.
The San Gabriel Canyon and East Fork remains closed to all forest visitors.
Highway 39, East Fork Road, Glendora Ridge Road and Glendora Mountain Road remain closed.
“SR-39 [San Gabriel Canyon Rd] is closed in both directions at the San Gabriel Canyon Gateway Center near Ranch Rd in Azusa until Thursday 7/25 due to the Fork Fire. Emergency vehicles & residents with ID only,” Caltrans said.
Some 181 people were committed to the firefighting effort as of Sunday morning. Authorities reported two firefighter injuries, but no further information about those injuries was provided.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said Saturday that an air rescue unit transported medics to “rescue seven hikers from the trail leading to the Bridge to Nowhere in Angeles Forest due to their proximity to the East Fork Fire.”
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
