Wildfires force frantic evacuations near LA; 2 die

LOS ANGELES — Two huge wildfires driven by strong Santa Ana winds threatened neighborhoods near Los Angeles on Monday, forcing frantic evacuations on smoke- and traffic-choked highways, burning several mobile homes and causing at least two deaths.

One fatality was a man who appeared to have been a transient living in a makeshift shelter, authorities said. A motorist died around midday Monday in a head-on crash on a freeway entrance ramp as traffic tried to turn around to escape flames.

Firefighters were struggling with a 5,000-acre blaze in the San Fernando Valley's northeastern corner when a new blaze erupted at midmorning a few miles to the west in mountains above the Porter Ranch area and quickly grew to 2,000 acres as wind blew up to 45 mph, with gusts reaching 70 mph.

“It is a blowtorch we can't get in front of,” said Los Angeles County fire Inspector Frank Garrido.

Fire officials could not immediately estimate how many homes in Porter Ranch were in the fire's path. Fire officials alerted other communities as far south as Malibu, 20 miles away.

The first fire was burning where neighborhoods abut rugged canyonlands below the mountainous Angeles National Forest. About 1,200 people evacuated because of the Marek Fire, which was just 5 percent contained.

Los Angeles County fire Capt. Mark Savage said 37 or 38 mobile homes were destroyed by that blaze early Monday. About 1,000 firefighters from multiple agencies were deployed.

“We could have had an army there and it would not have stopped it,” Los Angeles Fire Department Battalion Chief Mario Rueda said. “Wind is king here. It's dictating everything we are doing.”

Olive View-UCLA Medical Center moved eight patients to other hospitals. Spokeswoman Carla Nino said the six newborns, a heart-bypass patient and another patient described as “medically fragile” — were all on ventilators and were the most difficult to transport.

About 180 patients remained at the hospital Monday as officials waited to determine if the Marek Fire would actually approach.

The dry and warm Santa Ana winds typically blow between October and February. As they whistle through Southern California canyons and valleys, they accelerate, drying out vegetation and hastening the spread of any fires that erupt.

“This is what we feared the most,” said Savage. “The winds that were expected — they have arrived.”

Flames jumped the Foothill Freeway, which was closed in both directions for about a three-mile stretch in northern Los Angeles between the 118 Freeway and Interstate 5 amid the morning rush hour, officials said.

“That was quite a jump. That's an eight-lane fire break,” said fire spokesman Inspector Paul Hartwell.

A motorist was killed on a freeway ramp after vehicles started turning around and exiting to avoid the fire, Garrido said.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District advised Monday that air quality may be unhealthful due to the fires and urged people to avoid outdoor activities.

The Red Cross said about 500 people registered at an evacuation center at San Fernando High School. Agency spokesman Nick Samaniego said some evacuees had seen news footage of their homes burning.

“You can imagine, it's a devastating situation,” he said. “A lot of people on pins and needles waiting to hear news about their communities.”

Most schools in the area were closed Monday.

Also Monday, a blaze charred more than half of San Francisco Bay's largest island but spared scores of historical structures, including an immigration station that was the first stop for millions of immigrants, mostly from China, in the early 1900s. The Angel Island wildfire was about 75 percent contained Monday afternoon, and the cause remains under investigation.

Firefighters extinguish a burning storage yard that ignited from a wind driven brush fire in Los Angeles on Monday. Intense Santa Ana whipped up a 3,000-acre wildfire.