Crews Getting Upper Hand on Crown Fire

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Mother nature has helped firefighters with their battle against the Crown Fire burning near Palmdale, California. Higher humidity and lower temperatures allowed firefighters to get a better handle on the 14,000 acre fire that is now 87% contained, according to City News Service (CNS). Crews hope to have the blaze fully surrounded by Monday evening.

The fire, which broke out Thursday, threatened 2,500 structures at its peak and forced the evacuations of more than 2,000 people in West Palmdale, Leona Valley, Anaverde and Rancho Vista, according to the Los Angeles Times.

About 1,700 firefighters from all over California made an aggressive attack on the fire. According to CNS, the aerial attach consisted of a converted DC-10, a converted 747, five tanker planes and six water-dropping helicopters.

Friday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger visited the command post. "We were very fortunate to not have fires for quite some time because the air temperature was cool and we didn't have the experiencing of dry weather and all the winds and so on, but all of a sudden the fire season kicked in as if, 'Here we are,'" said Schwarzenegger. "But we are ready and we have luckily distributed resources all over the state of California, so we are ready at any given time."

By Sunday, more than 500 firefighters had been released and hundreds of evacuees were allowed to return to their homes, according to the Times.

According to KABC-TV, authorities believe someone working on a car wheel accidentally started the fire.

In another part of Los Angeles County on Sunday, about 200 firefighters battled a 21 acre fire near Calabasas, California from the ground and air. Crews were able to knock the fire down quickly but it snarled traffic on the 101 freeway for several hours, according to Channel 7. 



Author:Barbara Brooks - Fire Department Network News