Sep 7, 2009 8:52 pm US/Pacific
Station Fire Flare-Up Slows Crews Near SGV
2 Firefighters Killed, More Than 157,000 Acres Scorched
LOS ANGELES (AP) ―
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Amy Alarian submitted this photo taken of Station fire from Scholl Canyon Golf Course last week.
Amy Alarian/CBS
The unpredictable flames burning in the Angeles National Forest are staying one step ahead of firefighters, as a flare up on the northeast corner delayed efforts to burn out brush above the foothill cities of the San Gabriel Valley.
Incident Commander Mike Dietrich said 30-40 mph winds and 10 percent humidity Monday forced firefighters to cancel their plan to burn a line on the southern flank to protect communities from Azusa to Pasadena.
Dietrich says fighting the Station fire has cost $57.6 million to date.
The massive fire is now more than 55 percent contained, but two more burned homes were found over the weekend, bringing the total to 78. Full containment was not expected until Sept. 15.
The fire, which started Aug. 26, has blackened nearly 246 square miles of the Angeles National Forest and also destroyed a pair of commercial buildings, fire spokesman Ian MacDonald said.
At 157,220 acres, it is the largest wildfire ever in Los Angeles County.
Los Angeles County Fire Deputy Chief Mike Bryant says letters from grateful residents help to keep the firefighters going and bolster their spirits to fight against the ferocious fire that claimed two firefighters' lives last week.
Roughly 4,600 firefighters are working to surround the blaze, focusing on the flames' active eastern edge as investigators analyze clues from a scorched hillside near Angeles Crest Highway where the fire started.
Officials have said the cause of the fire was arson, but have not released any findings.
Los Angeles County authorities opened a homicide investigation because of the deaths of two firefighters.
Firefighters Tedmund Hall and Arnaldo Quinones were killed Aug. 30 while seeking an escape route for their inmate fire crew after flames overran their camp on Mount Gleason.
The fire remains a threat to some 7,000 homes, structures and commercial buildings in Monrovia and other foothill communities, but none were in immediate danger.
Fire crews planned to light backfires to help destroy fuels if the weather is not too hot and dry Tuesday, and officials told residents not to be alarmed if they see fresh plumes of smoke.
Anyone with information about this fire was asked to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department at (323)573-2387.
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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