Jul 13, 2008 11:10 am US/Pacific
Flash Floods Trap L.A. Firefighters On Firelines
LOS ANGELES (CBS) ―
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Southland firefighters are stuck, but not endangered, on a Kern County mountain near Lake Isabella, battling a fire that has churned through more than 36,000 acres, and is the closest to Los Angeles of the several dozen brushfires waging the state. (File)
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
About two dozen Los Angeles County firefighters are stuck, but not endangered, on a rugged mountain near Lake Isabella after overnight flash floods washed out roads near a massive brushfire they have been working on for two weeks.
Helicopters will be used Sunday to fly in military field meals to the firefighters working at the Piute Mountain Fire, 50 miles north of Lancaster, officials said. That fire has churned through more than 36,000 acres, and is the closest to Los Angeles of the several dozen brushfires bedeviling the
state.
"It's never a dull moment out here," Haynes said. "But for sure our main concern is firefighter safety in the face of all the different things that can happen. There is a concern for more flash flooding this afternoon and this evening."
Federal fire crews from Saugus and other Southland fire stations are among those stuck on ridgetops in the rugged southern end of the Sierra Nevada range, where forests and brushland have been burning for 13 days.
"Heavy rain washed out the gullies last night, and cut off the firefighters," said National Park Service fire specialist Barbara Dougan.
"They are all on high ground, on top of ridges, waiting for bulldozers to cut through the mud and reopen roads."
The Piute Fire is 46 percent contained, and about a third of the 1,500 firefighters and support personnel have come from Los Angeles and Orange counties and the Inland Empire. Many of those crews have "cycled" back home after 14 days on the lines at the Piute Fire, as well as the huge Big Sur-area fires.
The heaviest rains began falling on burned areas about 4 p.m. Saturday, said Ralph Gonzales, a Corona-based U.S. Forest Service engineer assigned to the Piute fire.
"Heavy rain washed out the gullies last night, and cut off the firefighters," said National Park Service fire specialist Barbara Dougan.
"They are all on high ground, on top of ridges, waiting for bulldozers to cut through the mud and reopen roads."
Fire crews from Saugus and other Southland fire stations are among those stuck in the rugged southern end of the Sierra Nevada range, where forests and brushland have been burning for 13 days.
Smoke from the fire, in Kern County, is visible rising from the mountains north of Lancaster and Palmdale.
A severe thunderstorm Saturday night doused some of the area with scattered downpours, causing mudslides and flash floods. "Rain like this can really hinder firefighting efforts," Dougan said.
"It makes the brush wet and slippery, and it prevents us from doing burn-outs and backfires, which is the phase we are in now," she said. "We are trying to extend containment lines around the fire, and need to do burn-outs inside the lines to control it."
The Piute Fire is 46 percent contained, and about a third of the 1,500 firefighters and support personnel have come from Los Angeles and Orange counties and the Inland Empire. Many of those crews have "cycled" back home after 14 days on the lines at the Piute and Big Sur-area fires.
Heavy thunderstorms in the Sierra also forced the overnight closure of U.S. 395 north of Bishop, cutting the link between Los Angeles and the popular resort town of Mammoth Lakes. Traffic was detoured on back roads northwest of Bishop, the California Highway Patrol reported.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
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