Oct 22, 2007 7:14 pm US/Pacific
Buckweed Fire Burns 37,800 Acres
AGUA DULCE, Calif. (CBS) ―
The so-called Buckweed Fire, which has scorched an estimated 37,800 acres in Agua, Canyon Country and Saugus since it started Sunday, was 27 percent contained Tuesday, authorities said.
The Buckweed Fire began in Mint Canyon west of Agua Dulce about 1 p.m. Sunday and was about 20 percent contained after firefighting aircraft were grounded at sundown Monday.
Though no cause has been determined, Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich said fire investigators were trying to determine if the fire was intentionally set. A fire that broke near Santiago and Silverado canyons in Irvine before dawn day was believed to have been started by an arsonist, according to Orange County Fire Authority Chief Chip Prather.
Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Sam Padilla said three people and a firefighter were injured Sunday in connection with the Buckweed Fire, but none have occurred since.
Most schools in the area were closed Tuesday, including those in the Castaic Union, Newhall, Saugus Union, Sulphur Springs, and William S. Hart school districts. Also closed was the College of the Canyons.
Evacuation shelters remained open at Saugus and Golden Valley with schools.
Fifteen homes, 17 outbuildings and 40 vehicles were destroyed. Also destroyed were bridges at Vasquez Canyon at Bouquet Canyon Road and Vasquez Canyon at Sierra Highway, Deputy Dana Camarillo of the county's Office of Emergency Management said.
A total of about 15,000 residents were evacuated at some point, but all were allowed to return home Monday, according to Santa Clarita city officials.
Among the structures destroyed Sunday was the Santa Clara/Mojave Rivers Ranger District Office in the Angeles National Forest at 30800 Bouquet Canyon Road, Kathy Peterson of the U.S. Forest Service said.
Firefighters battling the Buckweed fire, the Castaic fire and the Stevenson Ranch fire had to deal with a fourth blaze that erupted Tuesday.
The so-called Meadow Ridge Fire was reported about 4 a.m. near San Fernando Road and Meadow Ridge Drive, the Los Angeles County Fire Department reported.
Flames from the new fire scorched about 10 acres, but no structures were threatened and no one was hurt, authorities said.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
