California Wildfire: Body Found as Blaze Nearly Doubles in Size
byPhil HelselandGadi Schwartz
Burned body found as wildfires threaten 1,500 California homes0:19
Evacuation orders remained in place for around
1,500 homes near a wildfire north of Los Angeles early Sunday, after the
blaze nearly doubled in size Saturday.
The mandatory evacuation orders were prompted by
the so-called Sand Fire burning in the Angeles National Forest and
areas near Santa Clarita, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said.
Earlier, evacuation orders affected around 300 homes.
Authorities discovered a burned body Saturday
evening outside a home on Iron Canyon Road in Santa Clarita, just north
of Los Angeles.
Detectives were trying to determine whether the
person was killed by the blaze or another cause, Los Angeles County
sheriff's Lt. Rob Hahnlein said. The home also may have burned, he said.
Northern California Wildfire Expands Fueled By Record Heat1:58
The fire broke out at around 2:00 p.m. local
time Friday (5:00 p.m. ET) and swelled to 11,000 acres by noon Saturday
and had ballooned to 22,000 acres by Sunday morning, fire officials
said. More than 900 firefighters were battling the blaze, according to
the National Forest Service.
At least one structure has been destroyed and
100 commercial structures were threatened, fire department officials
said. The fire was 10 percent contained, and nearly 1,700 firefighters
were battling it.
An animal sanctuary was among those threatened
by the fire. Animals, including bears, chimpanzees and bison, were being
moved from the sanctuary by Saturday, according Wildlife Waystation,
the group that runs it.
However, there was good news Saturday evening:
The winds had changed direction and firefighters had contained the blaze
near the facility, the group said. "They have ceased evacuation of the
rest of the animals, as they have been deemed SAFE!!" Wildlife
Waystation said on Facebook.
"One wind shift and this whole place could be
gone in half an hour," a resident who fled his home, Chris Freeman, told
NBC News.
The smoke and flames were seen for miles around.
Ash fell on cars in Pasadena and on beaches in Malibu. The smoke
created unhealthy air conditions in large parts of the Los Angeles area,
and prompted warnings from health officials. Santa Clarita is about 35
miles north of downtown Los Angeles.
"The fire weather and the typical temperatures
this year this summer are projected to be higher than normal so it's
important that all of our citizens recognize that," Los Angeles Fire
Department Chief Daryl Osby said.
The fire began by the 14 Freeway, Osby said, and
a cause is under investigation. Ninety percent of wildfires are caused
by humans, he said.
California is in its fifth year of a historic
drought, creating dry vegetation especially susceptible to catching
fire. High temperatures in Southern California and windy conditions were
not helping. Some fields have not burned for decades, he said.
The area is under a "red flag warning," meaning
critical wildfire conditions exist, until Sunday night, the National
Weather Service said.
"Probably five years ago, based on our fire
behavior, if we had a similar fire we would have probably caught this
fire at the ridge," Osby said.
The cause of the fire is under investiga
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