Wildfires abate as winds die down near Los Angeles
<p>A wildfire burns in the hills just north of the San Gabriel Valley community of Glendora, Calif., on Thursday. Southern California authorities have ordered the evacuation of homes at the edge of a fast-moving wildfire burning in the dangerously dry foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains.</p>
GLENDORA, Calif. (AP) - Santa Ana winds that fanned a campfire into a wildfire that destroyed five homes and threatened foothill neighborhoods east of Los Angeles relented Thursday afternoon, halting the blaze in its tracks.
The fire swept through 1,700 acres of brush in the San Gabriel Mountains early in the day and drove some 3,700 people to evacuate, but by nightfall it was no longer advancing and was 30 percent contained.
"The weather cooperated quite a bit today. We didn't get the wind ... that we thought," Los Angeles County fire Deputy Chief John Tripp said.
The contained sections of the fire were those closest to populated areas, allowing residents to return to neighborhoods in Glendora Thursday night, though fire engines would remain.
Parts of neighboring Azusa remained under evacuation orders. It wasn't clear how many of the evacuees remained away from their homes.
The National Weather Service said a red-flag warning of extreme fire danger would remain in effect into Friday evening because of low humidity and the chance of winds gusting to 30 mph in the foothills and canyons.
The wildfire, which erupted early Thursday, damaged 17 homes, garages, barns and other buildings, Tripp said.
At least 10 renters were left homeless when the fire destroyed rental units on the historic grounds of a retreat that once was the summer estate of the Singer sewing machine family. Statues of Jesus and Mary stood unharmed near the blackened ruins. However, the main, 1920s mansion was spared.
"It's really a miracle that our chapel, our main house is safe," owner Jeania Parayno said.
Alex Larsen, 50, rented a room at the estate. The musician had lived there for about four years.
"All my possessions are toast, burned toast," he said.
Two firefighters had minor injuries and a woman trying to fight the blaze near her home suffered a minor burn, Tripp said.
Three men in their 20s, including a homeless man, were arrested on suspicion of recklessly starting the blaze by tossing paper into a campfire in the Angeles National Forest, just north of Glendora.
Glendora Chief Tim Staab said the men were trying to keep warm and the wildfire appears to have been an accident.
"One was very remorseful for starting this fire," he said.
The men could face either state or federal charges, depending on whether the campfire was on federal forest land.
The mountains rise thousands of feet above dense subdivisions crammed up against the scenic foothills. Large, expensive homes stand atop brush-choked canyons that offer sweeping views of the suburbs east of Los Angeles.
Whipped by Santa Ana winds, the fire quickly spread into neighborhoods where residents were awakened before dawn and ordered to leave.