Firefighters Make Progress against Fast-Moving Blaze Along Highway North of Los Angeles
The King Fire, which broke out around 1 a.m., charred nearly a square mile (2.5 square kilometers) of tinder-dry brush in a lightly populated area about 60 miles (100 kilometers) north of downtown LA.
An RV park was ordered to shelter in place and residents of remote homes were under evacuation warnings. The blaze was 20% contained, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
The California Highway Patrol closed some highway lanes as crews battled flames that raced along hillsides before dawn. Off- and on-ramps were closed near Smokey Bear Road, along with several surrounding roads just north of Pyramid Lake in a mountainous area known for hiking and boating.
The blaze is burning a few miles north of the Canyon Fire, which prompted evacuations, destroyed seven structures and injured three firefighters after breaking out Aug. 7. It was fully contained Thursday morning after charring more than 8 square miles (22 square kilometers) of LA and Ventura counties.
Firefighters were also rushing to contain a blaze in northern Los Angeles County that had ballooned to more than 200 acres (81 hectares) in less than two hours Thursday afternoon, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
Some residents in the small community of Acton were ordered to evacuate at the same time officials warned the blaze was a threat to the Angeles National Forest, less than a year after the Los Angeles area wildfires tore through the forest. The fire department said the Hawk Fire was uncontained.
The Gifford Fire, California's largest blaze so far this year, has scorched nearly 207 square miles (536 square kilometers) of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties since erupting on Aug. 1. It was 41% contained on Thursday.
Wildfire risk is elevated because Southern California has seen very little rain, drying out vegetation and making it 'ripe to burn,' the National Weather Service for Los Angeles warned in a statement last week.
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