Wildfire northeast of L.A.: Homes burn, residents evacuated

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A firefighter starts a backfire along San Gabriel Canyon Road in Azusa as the Colby fire burns through brush in January. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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A firefighter starts a backfire with a flare gun along San Gabriel Canyon Road in Azusa as the Colby fire burns through brush in January. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Firefighters hose down smoldering embers near a home on Pennsylvania Drive as fires continue to burn in Glendora. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Firefighters try to protect the main house as a fire burns a section of Singer Mansion on Kregmont Drive in Glendora. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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The Colby fire that broke out in Glendora, on the edge of the Angeles National Forest, exploded in size as dry brush, steep terrain and winds made for rough firefighting conditions. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Rita Abouchedid covers her face from heavy smoke as fire approaches her home on Kregmont Drive in Glendora. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Spectators watch as the Colby fire continues to burn on the edge of the Angeles National Forest in January. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Fire burns a section of Singer Mansion in Glendora as the Colby fire exploded in size Jan. 16. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Barbara Moser, right, hugs Rita Abouchedid, whose home was threatened by the fast-moving Colby fire in Glendora. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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A statue of Jesus stands in the front yard as the Colby fire claims part of the Singer Mansion in Glendora. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Firefighters work to protect the main house as a fire burns a section of Singer Mansion in Glendora. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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A large fire plume rises above the downtown skyline from the fast-growing Colby fire from the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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A woman looks at a brush fire that was reported at about 6 a.m. north of Glendora, a foothill community about 30 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times )

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Glendora resident Cathy Doherty waits to be evacuated in the 500 block of Viewcrest Drive in Glendora as the Colby fire continues to burn. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

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A brush fire broke out in January in the Angeles National Forest near Glendora. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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A helicopter flies near the Colby fire burning in the Angeles National Forest. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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The Colby fire was reported at about 6 a.m. north of Glendora, a foothill community about 30 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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A water-dropping helicopter flies over the Colby fire burning in the Angeles National Forest. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

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Smoke from the Colby fire in Glendora casts an eerie red glow in front of the rising sun in San Gabriel. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

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A police cruiser drives down Viewcrest Drive in Glendora urging residents to evacuate as the Colby fire burns in the Angeles National Forest. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

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A large plume from the fast-growing Colby fire can be seen from as far away as Beverly Hills. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

By Ari Bloomekatz and Jason Wells

Jan. 16, 2014 7:53 AM PT

A fast-growing brush fire that broke out Thursday morning above Glendora started to overrun hillside homes as it grew to more than 125 acres, prompting evacuations, authorities said.

The fire, reported just before 6 a.m. near the intersection of Glendora Mountain Road and Colby Trail Motorway, was sending a huge plume of smoke into the air as it advanced south down the hillside, overtaking at least two homes and other structures, aerial news footage showed.

Mandatory evacuations were in place for areas west of Glendora Boulevard to North Sierra Madre Boulevard, according to an alert issued by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department.

PHOTOS: Colby fire threatens home in hills above Glendora

“All we’re doing is going up and seeing how many people we can convince to get out of there .... We can only be as firm as we can be,” sheriff’s Dep. Rob Upham said.

Glendora police issued an alert “strongly” recommending evacuations for residents living between Grand and Glendora Mountain Road, north of Sierra Madre.

County firefighters were working with Forest Service crews to attack the blaze, as more water-dropping helicopters were called in.

Angeles National Forest spokesman Nathan Judy told KTLA-TV at about 7:15 a.m. that the blaze had grown.

“Our fuels are very dry, they’ve been that way all year,” Judy said.

Miguel Orneals of the L.A. County Fire Department said his agency was requesting more equipment for structure protection because the blaze was threatening residences and homes.

As the flames advanced down the hill, authorities warned residents to prepare to leave at a moment’s notice and not take any chances.

“If you feel uncomfortable, if the hairs are standing up on the back of your neck ... just go ahead and evacuate,” Judy told KTLA. “Let us do our jobs and take control of this fire and then you can come back in.”

The fire comes as the National Weather Service extended red flag warnings for Los Angeles and Ventura counties until 3 p.m. Friday with extremely low humidity worsening already tinder-dry conditions.

The circumstances are such that if a fire were to ignite, “there could be rapid spread of wildfire,” the weather service warned Thursday.