Crown Fire Explodes North of Los Angeles

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A fire that began yesterday at 2:22 p.m.north of Los Angeles, California has grown to 8,000 acres in just over 18 hours. The Crown Fire burned fast through dry brush and grass west of Palmdale with flame lengths up to 50 feet pushed by 20 mph winds. The blaze is currently at 5% containment, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD).

The extreme fire behavior overnight forced officials to issue mandatory evacuation orders for 2,000 homes in the Leona Valley, Anna Verde, Ritter Ranch and Rancho Vista areas, according to KABC-TV.

As of Friday morning, mandatory evacuations were lifted for all 4,000 residents that were sent to evacuation centers, according to the LACoFD.

One home and three single-wide trailers have been lost to the fire, according to KTLA-TV, while another home sustained roof damage. 

There are 750 firefighters on scene with more on the way from other parts of California. The fire will be attacked from the air by six helicopters and a DC-10.

According to Deputy Chief Michael Bryant of the LACoFD, the main focus for fire crews today will be structure protection as well as protecting power lines that feed power into the Los Angeles area.

Investigators may have pinpointed where the fire began. "Our investigation is centering around workers at the area of the origin yesterday in Agua Dulce. They were working on a tire rim to remove a tire rim and the bolts from that rim," Bryant said.

The fire knocked out a sheriff's department communications tower on Hauser Peak which affected sheriff's stations in Lancaster and Palmdale covering the area of the fire. Officers had no radio communications but were able to communicate by computer messaging and cell phones, according to Channel 7.

Another fire began Thursday afternoon around 3 p.m. and was dubbed the Briggs Fire. It started on the opposite side of the 14 Freeway from the Crown Fire and burned approximately 530 acres before Incident Commanders reported a knockdown of the fire at about 9 p.m., according to the LACoFD.

Incident commanders declared a knockdown for this fire.


Author:Barbara Brooks - Fire Department Network News