Lopez Canyon Fire Consumes 450 Acres

Afire whipped by hot winds blackened more than 450 acres of brushland in Lopez Canyon north of Sylmar on Friday, sending plumes of smoke over the northeastern San Fernando Valley but causing no injuries or damage to structures, authorities said.

Late Friday night, about 250 firefighters from three departments were battling the fire, which broke out in a rugged, inaccessible area at 4:15 p.m., Los Angeles County Fire Department Capt. James Nelson said. He said firefighters expected to contain the blaze by midnight.

Cause of the fire was not known, he said.

Fire crews from Los Angeles County and city fire departments and the U.S. Forest Service battled the blaze by hand, while helicopters and Forest Service air tankers made water drops, Nelson said.