A
AALARD
Guest
Fire threatens So. Calif. neighborhood
LOS ANGELES, Residents were racing to their cars and fleeing as a wildfire advanced toward a neighborhood in Palmdale, Calif., authorities said.
The Crown fire, which started Thursday, has burned more than 13,000 acres and destroyed several structures, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday. Water-dropping helicopters were being used in the battle to keep the flames from entering the Rancho Vista subdivision as the fire jumped the California Aqueduct north of Los Angeles.
The fire threatened power lines, causing the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to ask residents to reduce their energy usage wherever possible.
"We're asking people to help care for our infrastructure while this fire is burning, as we wait for the potential threat to diminish," Brooks Baker, a spokesman for the agency, said.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger toured the area Friday and then told reporters the fire had been 20 percent contained, the Times said.
"Even though we have a budget crunch, everyone should be assured that we have money available for fighting these fires," Schwarzenegger said. "Public safety is our No. 1 priority."
Smoke from several fires in the Los Angeles Basin was expected to swathe the region through the weekend, leading to health warnings, officials said. In addition, several school athletic programs canceled outdoor activities such as sports and band practices because of the dirty air, the Times reported.
Smoke from a fire that broke out Tuesday north of Azusa, Calif., and a fire that broke out Wednesday north of La Canada Flintridge, Calif., raised air pollution levels to unhealthy points in the San Gabriel Valley as well as parts of Los Angeles, officials said.
Weather experts told the Times weak winds kept the smoke from dissipating.
"The LA Basin is a big cul-de-sac. To the north and the east we're bounded by some pretty high mountains," said Bill Patzert, a climatologist with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "The basin is just filling up with this smoke."
Patzert said the smoke likely would remain until Sunday, along with a high-pressure system that brought triple-digit temperatures and red-flag fire conditions to the area.
"We're sitting in the smoke until Sunday. It's going to get hotter and smokier," Patzert said.
Firefighters used a concentrated air attack to make progress Wednesday against a wildfire burning in Angeles National Forest, authorities said.
More than 1,000 firefighters from across California were working on the fires. Investigators haven't determined the cause of any of the blazes, the Times reported
LOS ANGELES, Residents were racing to their cars and fleeing as a wildfire advanced toward a neighborhood in Palmdale, Calif., authorities said.
The Crown fire, which started Thursday, has burned more than 13,000 acres and destroyed several structures, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday. Water-dropping helicopters were being used in the battle to keep the flames from entering the Rancho Vista subdivision as the fire jumped the California Aqueduct north of Los Angeles.
The fire threatened power lines, causing the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to ask residents to reduce their energy usage wherever possible.
"We're asking people to help care for our infrastructure while this fire is burning, as we wait for the potential threat to diminish," Brooks Baker, a spokesman for the agency, said.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger toured the area Friday and then told reporters the fire had been 20 percent contained, the Times said.
"Even though we have a budget crunch, everyone should be assured that we have money available for fighting these fires," Schwarzenegger said. "Public safety is our No. 1 priority."
Smoke from several fires in the Los Angeles Basin was expected to swathe the region through the weekend, leading to health warnings, officials said. In addition, several school athletic programs canceled outdoor activities such as sports and band practices because of the dirty air, the Times reported.
Smoke from a fire that broke out Tuesday north of Azusa, Calif., and a fire that broke out Wednesday north of La Canada Flintridge, Calif., raised air pollution levels to unhealthy points in the San Gabriel Valley as well as parts of Los Angeles, officials said.
Weather experts told the Times weak winds kept the smoke from dissipating.
"The LA Basin is a big cul-de-sac. To the north and the east we're bounded by some pretty high mountains," said Bill Patzert, a climatologist with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "The basin is just filling up with this smoke."
Patzert said the smoke likely would remain until Sunday, along with a high-pressure system that brought triple-digit temperatures and red-flag fire conditions to the area.
"We're sitting in the smoke until Sunday. It's going to get hotter and smokier," Patzert said.
Firefighters used a concentrated air attack to make progress Wednesday against a wildfire burning in Angeles National Forest, authorities said.
More than 1,000 firefighters from across California were working on the fires. Investigators haven't determined the cause of any of the blazes, the Times reported
