Dry Grass Fuels Fire Burning Near Southern California Hillside Community
ACTON, Calif. (AP) -- Firefighters battled two wildfires covering a total of 600 acres and warned that scorching heat predicted for the weekend could worsen conditions.
In Acton, a structure that caught fire sparked a blaze Thursday evening that burned 420 acres of brush and threatened about 50 homes in the community about 50 miles northeast of Los Angeles.
It was 70 percent contained by early Friday, said Art Marrujo, senior dispatch supervisor for Los Angeles County Fire Department. Full containment was expected sometime Friday, he said.
No evacutions were ordered and there were no reports of injuries or homes or structures burned, he said.
The blaze started shortly after 5:30 p.m. along the North Angeles Highway. About 300 firefighters battled the blaze in an area dotted with ranch houses.
Nearby, in Yucaipa, firefighters had largely contained a fire that had spread rapidly Thursday in dry grass in the San Bernardino County hillside community. No homes or structures were lost in the 160-acre blaze, which was 75 percent contained, officials said.
The fire broke out about 8 a.m. just north of a Yucaipa housing tract about 75 miles east of Los Angeles, said California Department of Forestry spokesman Bill Peters.
The fire was accidentally caused by mechanical equipment cutting metal pipe, Peters said.
On the Net:
LA County Fire Department: www.lacofd.org
