Sierra Madre fire blazes on

Firefighters continued to battle a 500-acre fire in the mountains above Sierra Madre, which remains about 23% contained, officials said today.

So far, however, only a single outbuilding has burned – either a garage or a barn, said Robert Brady, an officer with the U.S. Forest Service. And firefighters were able to save a score of homes by burning brush in a perimeter around a threatened area.

Brady said about a third of the fire had been contained by dawn, but firefighters had suffered a setback early this morning when ignited plants and logs rolled down steep slopes.

“The progress we made was wiped out,” he said. “When that happens, you are almost starting over again.”

Brady said high temperatures are not expected to abate. But “the low humidity is what’s killing us. The brush is really thirsty.”

Half the fire is in the Angeles National Forest and half within the boundaries of the city of Sierra Madre. At 2 p.m. today, residents in an area east of Camillo Street, up to Santa Anita Canyon, an area of about one square mile, were allowed to return home, Brady said. As many as 500 homes in all had been evacuated.

All Sierra Madre schools were closed today.

About 580 firefighters from federal, state and local agencies were battling the blaze today. So far, the only injuries were two heat-exhaustion cases, a bee sting and a sprained ankle, Brady said.

The fire was not expected to be fully contained for at least five days, officials said earlier today.

“We’ve got the fire on our terms on the low edge of the fire,” said Tim Davis, a fire manager with the Angeles National Forest.

The challenge lay higher in forested hills, where firefighters must hike.

“It’s very steep, very rugged, a lot of rocks, a lot of thick brush that’s probably 20 or 30 years old,” said fire official Marc Peebles.

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