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Saddleridge Fire Rips Through Southern California, Forcing Evacuations Saddleridge Fire Rips Through Southern California, Forcing Evacuations
(about 1 hour later)
A fire tore through Southern California overnight into Friday, forcing mandatory evacuations for more than 100,000 people and setting dozens of homes ablaze, just as power was being restored to hundreds of thousands of Northern Californians. NORTHRIDGE, Calif. — A fire tore through Southern California on Friday, forcing mandatory evacuations for more than 100,000 people and setting dozens of homes ablaze, just as power was being restored to hundreds of thousands of Northern Californians.
The Saddleridge fire was burning more than 4,700 acres in northwest Los Angeles as of Friday morning and was zero percent contained, according to Ralph Terrazas, the city’s fire chief. Strong winds were pushing the fire north toward Santa Clarita, and Mr. Terrazas said the blaze was growing by 800 acres an hour. The Saddleridge fire was burning over more than 4,700 acres in northwest Los Angeles as of Friday morning according to Ralph Terrazas, the city’s fire chief. None of it had been contained, he said, and the blaze was growing by 800 acres an hour as strong winds pushed it north toward Santa Clarita.
More than 23,000 homes lay in the mandatory evacuation zones, which stretched to the border of Ventura County. Los Angeles shut down about 10 schools and two shelters, in Granada Hills and in Chatsworth, had filled to capacity by Friday morning. Video aired by local television stations showed flames being blown along rooftops in Porter Ranch, a neighborhood that sits about 10 miles from the fire’s origin and which Mr. Terrazas said was one of the hardest hit areas. More than 23,000 homes sit in the mandatory evacuation zones, which stretched to the border of Ventura County. Los Angeles shut down some schools and residents fled to shelters, quickly filling four by noon. Gusts up to 50 miles per hour carried embers, and flames blew along rooftops in Porter Ranch, a neighborhood about 10 miles from the fire’s origin that Mr. Terrazas said was one of the hardest-hit areas.
One man in his 50s had died of cardiac arrest while he was speaking to firefighters, Mr. Terrazas said. Firefighters had tried to resuscitate the man, Mr. Terrazas said, but he died at a nearby hospital. Separately, a firefighter had gone to the hospital for treatment of a minor eye injury, but no other injuries had been reported. Rachel Melignano, a writer who lives in Porter Ranch, said she woke up at 5 a.m. to the smell of smoke and thought her husband might have burned his breakfast.
Chief Michel Moore of the Los Angeles Police Department said some people in the evacuation zones had put lives in danger by staying at home and trying to fend off the fire with garden hoses, which he said stood no chance against the fast-moving flames. The smell got worse, and the couple realized the fire was nearing their neighborhood. They packed up some precious photographs, journals and their two golden retrievers and fled to a hotel in Burbank, taking back roads to avoid closed-off highways. The couple moved from Pennsylvania a few years ago and had never needed to flee a fire.
[Also read: For the Most Vulnerable, California Blackouts ‘Can Be Life or Death’] “I was very scared,” Ms. Melignano said. “It smelled so strong that we were very concerned.”
The fire began about 9 p.m. on Thursday near Interstate 210 in Sylmar at the northernmost edge of Los Angeles, where someone called 911 to report a brush fire. By Friday morning, more than 1,000 firefighters were trying to curb the blaze, which was fueled by high winds and low humidity. One man in his 50s died of cardiac arrest while he was speaking to firefighters, Mr. Terrazas said. A firefighter went to a hospital because of a minor eye injury, but no other injuries had been reported.
Fire officials said at least 25 homes were already destroyed, and they feared the gusts would not let up. The fire began about 9 p.m. on Thursday near Interstate 210 in Sylmar at the northernmost edge of Los Angeles, where someone called 911 to report a brush fire. More than 1,000 firefighters were trying to curb the blaze on Friday, which was fueled by high winds and low humidity.
“This is a wind-driven fire,” said Margaret Stewart, a department spokeswoman. “That is what has caused this fire to move. The winds are going to be extreme again today.” Chief Michel Moore of the Los Angeles Police Department said some people in the evacuation zones had endangered lives by staying at home and trying to fend off the fire with garden hoses. Fire officials said at least 25 homes had been destroyed, and they feared that the gusts would not let up.
Mr. Terrazas, the fire chief, said firefighters who were scheduled to clock out were staying on duty. “This is a wind-driven fire,” said Margaret Stewart, a department spokeswoman. “That is what has caused this fire to move. The winds are going to be extreme again.”
“Nobody’s going home right away,” he said at a news conference. “This event is going to take a few days.” In a recreation center in Northridge that had been converted to a shelter, rows of cots sat on a basketball court as ash swirled outside. Mary Fernandez, a retired deputy sheriff who lives in Sylmar, was keeping an eye on her two dogs, Cowboy and Carlos.
About 312,000 customers in Northern California remained without power on Friday morning, less than half of the roughly 738,000 customers whose electricity had been shut off by Pacific Gas and Electric, the state’s largest utility, this week to prevent wildfires. Fire officials are not yet sure how the Saddleridge fire began. Ms. Fernandez, 51, evacuated with only a few belongings and some dog food after spotting flames over the hillside behind her house.
Jacey Fortin contributed reporting. “Just yesterday I was looking out my window and I was admiring the view of the rolling hills, and thinking that I was lucky to live in a place so pretty, you know?” Ms. Fernandez said. “And I hate to think about what it’ll look like when I go back.”
The evacuation center had made temporary neighbors out of Norman Kaye, 90, a retired accountant in Porter Ranch, and Doug Crawford, 69, a retired I.T. executive in Chatsworth.
After waking up to a call from his daughter about the fire, Mr. Kaye roused a few neighbors and headed to IHOP for his usual breakfast of eggs, pancakes and bacon. As he left the restaurant, he turned down a street and saw a firetruck and flames.
Mr. Kaye said he was not worried about the fire reaching his home.
“I’m 90 years old and downsizing anyway,” he said.
Mr. Crawford and his wife, Elizabeth Chatsworth, had raced out of their home within 15 minutes, sticking to a routine they had nailed down over four decades and at least three evacuations. They keep their important papers and hard drives of photographs in filing cabinets.
Mr. Terrazas said firefighters who were scheduled to clock out were staying on duty. “Nobody’s going home right away,” he said at a news conference. “This event is going to take a few days.”
About 312,000 customers in Northern California remained without power on Friday morning after Pacific Gas and Electric shut off their electricity this week in an attempt to prevent wildfires. At the height of the planned outages, about 738,000 customers were affected.
Fire officials are not sure how the Saddleridge fire began.
Louis Keene reported from Northridge, Calif., and Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs from New York. Jacey Fortin contributed reporting from New York.