Firefighters at Sepulveda Basin fire looking for hot spots as ‘winds might strike up embers’
Firefighters at Sepulveda Basin fire looking for hot spots as ‘winds might strike up embers’
by Alma Fausto
No active flames were burning in the Sepulveda Basin fire Friday morning, Oct. 15, fire authorities said, although firefighters were on scene looking for areas that may be smoldering in the 60-acre burn footprint .
The vegetation fire joined the roster of blazes burning in LA County Thursday afternoon, when it broke out around 4 p.m. in the northeast corner of the basin at Woodley Avenue and Burbank Boulevard.
Within two hours, the 2-to-3 acres blaze had grown to 10 acres. Then driven by the unforgiving 30 mph wind gusts it swelled to 60 acres.
Firefighters were able to get 80% containment by 9 p.m. and keep the blaze from growing.
Ground and air crews made aggressive attacks to keep the flames from damaging buildings and avoiding evacuation orders. No injuries have been reported. The cause remains under investigation.
MORE: This map shows where the fires are burning in LA County
“We were able to get a handle on it quick enough,” Nicholas Prangle, a spokesman with the Los Angeles Fire Department, said Friday. “We have it boxed in at this point.”
There were still firefighters on the ground Friday morning strengthening the containment lines. The high heat, dry air and strong winds are expected to remain Friday.
“They’re just going through the burn footprint going through hot spots because we know the winds might strike up embers,” he said.
Elsewhere in LA County, the Tick fire continues to burn in Canyon Country, destroying homes and forcing thousands to evacuate.
That fire has scorched thousands of acres and has prompted LAUSD, CSUN and other schools in the area to cancel classes on Friday.
All credit goes to Alma Fausto Originally published on https://www.dailynews.com
