Angeles Forest Fire Burns 2,000 Acres Above Castaic

The largest brush fire this year in Angeles National Forest burned out of control Sunday, charring more than 2,000 acres near Castaic Lake and forcing the evacuation of a Los Angeles County alcohol rehabilitation center, authorities said.

There were no reports of injuries from the fire, which was reported at 11 a.m. on Red Mountain, about three miles northeast of Castaic Lake, said Robert Brady, spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service.

The cause of the fire was unknown. An army of 380 firefighters and more than a dozen planes, helicopters and bulldozers worked to control the blaze as it burned westward through heavy brush in rugged terrain.

By 7 p.m. Sunday, the fire had burned over a mountain ridge and to within half a mile of the Warm Springs Rehabilitation Center on Lake Hughes Road. Officials said 170 residents of the facility were evacuated.

“When we could see the fire coming down our side of the mountain, we decided to evacuate,” said Paul Yard, assistant manager of the facility. A small staff was left behind, and five Los Angeles County Fire Department engine companies were posted at the facility to protect it if the fire came closer.

Firefighters from the Forest Service, the state Division of Forestry and Los Angeles County were cutting containment lines on the ground while air tankers dumped fire retardant on steeper parts of the terrain.

Brady said officials were concerned that Santa Ana winds, predicted in Forest Service forecasts, could begin fanning the blaze, creating further problems regarding control.

“If we get the Santa Ana winds,” Brady said, “they are drier and faster. It could change the direction of the fire.”