Oct 13, 2008 8:26 pm US/Pacific
2 Dead In Marek Fire, At Least 35 Homes Destroyed
LAKEVIEW TERRACE (CBS) ―
Wind-whipped flames exploded across substantially more than 5,300 acres stretching from the Angeles National Forest toward Lake View Terrace Monday, apparently killing two people.
One of those who died was a homeless man who was camped near a freeway interchange and sending thick plumes of smoke over the area. His dog died with him.
A second death was announced early tonight by Assistant Coroner Chief Ed Winter, who did not have details.
The so-called Marek fire had been 20 percent contained Sunday, but the flames erupted overnight and early Monday morning thanks to winds gusting at up to 70 mph, pushing the blaze across fire lines and quickly growing from 2,100 acres to 3,712 acres and reducing containment to just 5 percent.
Authorities feared Monday night the same thing could happen again. At least 5,300 acres had burned, but that estimate was old, according to Capt. Mike Brown of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Brown said he expected a new assessment soon that would reflect a considerable increase in the acreage burned.
Winds were already blowing at up to 65 mph early in the evening, even before the more dangerous winds start up near midnight Monday.
Brown said the concern was that the new winds this evening could make
the fire even larger. So far, containment figures were minimal, he said.
The fire, which officials described as suspicious, broke out around 2 a.m. Sunday near a shooting range in Little Tujunga Canyon in the Angeles National Forest, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
The winds churned up burning embers and caused a pre-dawn flareup in the forest's Lopez Canyon area, with flames shooting up to 300 feet into the night sky, fire officials said.
Winter said a homeless man and his dog burned to death when flames consumed a makeshift wood-and-cardboard shelter near Paxton Street and Foothill Boulevard -- near the interchange of the Foothill (210) and Ronald Reagan (118) freeways. The man's age and name were not immediately known.
"All the details about what happened with this individual are not yet clear to us, but do not underestimate the ability of the wind to push this fire," Los Angeles County Fire Chief P. Michael Freeman said.
"In some situations, you may not even be able to outrun the fire if you're that close to it. And again, the radiant heat from this fire -- it's not like a campfire. It is extremely hot, and even from 30 or 40 feet can be very hot -- hot enough to maybe set one's shirt or clothing on fire. So heed the warnings from law enforcement and the firefighters. ... Help us ... do our job, and that's to protect life first and foremost, and then the property."
Lopez Canyon, Kagel Canyon and Little Tujunga Canyon were under mandatory evacuations, impacting about 450 homes and 1,200 people, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said.
"I saw at least one structure that is burned," said Villaraigosa, who took a helicopter tour of the burn area. "I understand that there may be a couple of others. We haven't lost a structure in the city to wildfire in almost a decade. Because of this new fire north of Porter Ranch, with the wind, we're obviously all very, very concerned."
County fire officials said a house and garage, three sheds and as many as 30 mobile homes at the Water Tank Trailer Park were destroyed by blowing embers carried by sustained winds of 15-20 mph, and a second home was damaged.
But more than 100 homes in the canyon bottoms were saved, firefighters said.
The destroyed house was being rented by newlyweds with two young children, according to reporters at the scene.
The blaze sent thick smoke that drifted across the eastern San Fernando Valley, prompting health and air quality alerts. Fire officials warned that flames burned through some fertilizer and pesticides, leading to concerns of possibly toxic smoke, although there was no confirmation of any dangerous fumes.
Several Los Angeles Unified School District campuses were closed due to the flames, including:
-- Broadous Elementary, 12561 Filmore St., Pacoima;
-- Pacoima Elementary, 11016 Norris Ave., Pacoima;
-- Discovery Prep Charter, 12550 Van Nuys Blvd., Pacoima;
-- Harding Elementary, 13060 Harding St., Sylmar;
-- Hubbard Elementary, 13325 Hubbard St., Sylmar;
-- Triumph Academy, 919 Eighth St., San Fernando;
-- Community Middle/High School, 11500 Eldridge Ave., Lakeview Terrace;
-- Fenton Charter, 11828 Gain St., Lakeview Terrace;
-- Castlebay Lane Elementary School, 19010 Castlebay Lane, Northridge; and
-- Lakeview Terrace Charter, 1445 Celis St., San Fernando;
San Fernando High School served as an American Red Cross refugee center Sunday night, and LAUSD officials offered Sylmar High School as another evacuation center, if needed, authorities said. But both high schools continued to operate normally, according to the LAUSD.
Authorities said children were in no danger from the fire, but LAUSD Superintendent David Brewer ordered air quality tests to be conducted.
Reports from the scene indicated that more than 500 people had checked in at the San Fernando High School evacuation center.
The fire also forced freeway closures, including:
-- the eastbound Ronald Reagan (118) Freeway at Glenoaks Boulevard;
-- the transition roads from the northbound and southbound Golden State
(5) Freeway to the eastbound Foothill (210) Freeway; and
-- the Foothill Freeway between the Golden State and Glendale (2) freeways.
Some 1,000 firefighters from several fire departments were battling the blaze, and six strike teams were headed to the area from Northern California, fire commanders said.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich said residents can call 211 to get information about services for people affected by the fire, including animal control, health, mental health, tax assessor and other
agencies.
"Supervisor (Zev) Yaroslavsky and I will ... (be) before the Board of Supervisors tomorrow asking the governor to declare a state of emergency, and our CEO will be signing that proclamation today as we ratify it tomorrow," Antonovich said.
Yaroslavsky warned that more Santa Ana winds were forecast for later Monday night, and with another blaze burning in Porter Ranch, "we have a mess on our hands."
"But we have the best people in the world to handle this mess, and they're in the process of doing so now," he said.
The National Weather Service had warned that a major Santa Ana wind event was moving into the area and that wind gusts of 60 mph were expected in mountains and canyons. Some Los Angeles County mountain areas recorded gusts of 73 mph early Monday morning.
About 1,200 residents from about 450 homes in and around Lopez and Kagel canyons were ordered out of the area Sunday, along with horses and livestock, which were taken to an equestrian center at Hansen Dam.
Olive View Medical Center, near the fire line, went into "internal disaster" mode at 9 a.m., meaning that ambulances were directed to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital or Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills instead, county officials said.
No evacuation of the hospital was immediately planned, other transporting four infants and an adult, all of whom were on ventilators, said Olive View spokeswoman Carla Nino.
"At this time, the plan is to shelter in place," Nino said in an e-mail to county personnel.
Angeles National Forest spokesman Stanton Florea said the fire will likely burn for several days. If the fire spreads farther uphill, an area near some California condor nests could be threatened, and protecting those condors
would be a priority, he said.
The cause of the fire was still under investigation, but arson investigators told reporters at the scene they found something suspicious near the ignition point. No details were immediately released.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
