Scary photos of Fire a few feet from Los Angeles Homes

Scary Photos of Fire Raging Steps Away From Los Angeles Homes

Jan. 17, 2014

By COLLEEN CURRY

Colleen Curry More from Colleen »

Reporter

Firefighting crews were rushing to squelch flames in the hills outside of Los Angeles today before dangerous Santa Ana winds pick up again, authorities said.

Fires wept through the San Gabriel Mountains on Thursday, destroying at least two homes and scorching the parched earth.

Will Lester/The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/AP Photo

A fireman calls for more water on the burning Singer home above Glendora, Calif. on Jan. 16, 2014. The wildfire in the foothills of Southern California's San Gabriel Mountains, burned a portion of the former Singer home, of sewing machine fame.

Officials from the U.S. Forest Service told ABC News today that wildfires are often caused by campfires that go rogue, either from sparks flying into nearby dry vegetation or igniting pine needles and brush lying next to the fire itself.

See All of ABC's Photos of the Fires Here

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Dan R. Krauss/Getty Images

Firefighters walk down from the hills as wildfires burn through the foothills on Jan. 16, 2014 in Azusa, California. Authorities have stated that three people have been charged with recklessly lighting a fire as the blaze known as the Colby Fire has now destroyed 1,700 acres of land and several homes around Glendora and Azusa in the San Gabriel Valley.

"Certainly with the conditions the way they are in a lot of areas, it can happen," John Heil, press officer for the Pacific Southwest Region of the service said of the weather conditions in California. "Igniteability depends on the condition of the vegetation and wind. ... We've had several [fires] caused by campfires."

Will Lester/The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/AP Photo

Firefighters douse the flames on a house in Glendora Calif. on Jan. 16, 2014.

Three men have been arrested on suspicion of recklessly building a campfire in the forest that sparked the blaze.

Clifford Eugene Henry, Jr., Jonathan Carl Jarrell and Steven Robert Aguirre told police they were throwing paper into the campfire for warmth when a breeze picked up and set the wildfire, according to ABC News station KABC.

Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP Photo

A resident on the roof of a house talks on the phone as a wildfire burns in the hills just north of the San Gabriel Valley community of Glendora, Calif., on Jan 16, 2014.

Police said the men were "apologetic." They are being held on $500,000 bond and are scheduled to make their first court appearance Tuesday. 

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http://abcnews.go.com/US/scary-photos-fire-raging-steps-los-angeles-homes/story?id=21574763