Wildfire smolders in desert north of LA
<p>A Los Angeles Fire Department helicopter drops water on a hillside subdivision on the outskirts of Palmdale, Calif., on Friday to help combat wildfires.</p>
PALMDALE, Calif. (AP) - A wildfire smoldered in the high desert north of Los Angeles Saturday, spewing plumes of thick smoke into a nearby town as hundreds of firefighters worked to contain the 2-day-old blaze.
The fire has charred nearly 22 square miles of brush in the Antelope Valley. It was 62 percent contained Saturday afternoon and no structures were threatened, said Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Sam Padilla.
Some 1,300 firefighters were assigned to the fire near Palmdale, and the city of 139,000 was filled with thick smoke.
Crews hoped to close the fire's south flank near Portal Ridge, Rancho Vista and Ana Verde as temperatures rose into the 90s and dry winds whipped up again as predicted.
"We're getting a handle on it," Padilla said. "As soon as we contain that south end we'll be in better shape."
Padilla said there were no open flames - just smoldering embers - which has slowed the fire's spread.
"The way you work embers is by using hoses on the ground, so we're relying on our foot soldiers today," County Fire Inspector Don Kunitomi said. "It's important to clean up those embers because one hot gust of wind can start a spot fire."
Officials were prepared to again activate water-dropping aircraft, which helped hold back the fire late Friday when flames jumped an aqueduct and menaced power lines that deliver electricity to Southern California.
Winds apparently carried embers across the wide concrete channel, with flames rapidly spreading to backyard fences. As many as 2,300 structures were threatened at the height of the fire late Thursday. Evacuation orders were lifted Friday morning, but some roads remained closed.
One house and three mobile home residences were destroyed, authorities said.
Deputy Fire Chief Michael Bryant said an investigation into the cause of the fire is centering on workers who were hammering on some bolts to remove a tire rim.
Elsewhere, good weather in neighboring Kern County helped firefighters build containment lines around two wildfires that destroyed homes in remote mountain communities earlier in the week.
Officials said a fire near Tehachapi that destroyed 23 homes and charred 2 square miles of heavy brush was expected to be fully contained by today.
To the north, a blaze that destroyed eight residences as it spread across about 26 square miles of the Sequoia National Forest in the Sierra Nevada was also expected to be contained this weekend.