Heat, Wind Spawn Southland Fires

The dry weather and hot winds that brought scorching heat to Southern California on Sunday also fanned a rash of fires that damaged 21 homes in San Diego, blackened more than 5,700 acres in Riverside and Ventura counties and caused problems in Orange and Los Angeles counties.

A 600-acre brush fire in the San Carlos section of San Diego brought more than 150 firefighters to the battle lines. They fought for almost 24 hours before containing the blaze near Cowles Mountain at 2 p.m. Sunday. The roofs of 21 homes were damaged.

The fire, set off when winds forced two high-voltage utility lines together, prompted the evacuation of 150 residents from their homes in the northeastern part of the city. The fire could be seen for miles late Saturday as it burned at the top of the mountain, even after officials declared it largely contained.

Buildings Damaged

A fast-moving fire in Riverside County burned more than 1,900 acres, damaging two homes, six outbuildings and five vehicles, California Department of Forestry spokeswoman Joanne Evans said. The fire, fed by 40- to 45-m.p.h. winds, raged in Juniper Flats, between Hemet and Nuevo about 25 miles southeast of Riverside.

As more than 300 firefighters fought that blaze, animals could be seen running out of the brush to escape the flames. At one point a brown rabbit, his paws burned and his body covered with fire retardant dropped by planes, was picked up by a firefighter, but the rabbit died moments later.

Containment was expected by late today, Evans said, adding that the cause was under investigation.

As that fire wound down, two others started in Riverside County late Sunday, one burning more than 100 acres northeast of Moreno Valley and another consuming 20 acres in Quail Valley. Evans said the forestry department could not project when they would be brought under control.

Two brush fires burned out of control in Ventura County, destroying about 3,700 acres, threatening homes, causing traffic to be rerouted and injuring two people, fire officials said.

Another large fire erupted in Simi Valley about 1 p.m. Sunday at Kuehner Drive and the Simi Valley Freeway, Bobbie Barker of the Ventura County Fire Department reported. The blaze, whipped by strong northeastly winds, destroyed more than 2,500 acres and threatened several homes before crossing into west Los Angeles County, Barker said. No injuries were reported.

The fire moved so swiftly that at one point, when the wind shifted and flames headed toward a housing tract, people who had been standing outside watching suddenly ran. They grabbed crying children and fled, but the smoke was so thick they could not see, became disoriented and seemed to run in circles.

Then, the fire hit a concrete wall at the edge of the tract and changed direction again, sparing the homes.

Freeway Closed

The Simi Valley Freeway was closed for about an hour by the California Highway Patrol as flames burned toward it and leaped half way across the roadway.

Another brush fire that broke out Saturday south of Lake Piru in Ventura County remained out of control as well, having charred more than 1,200 acres. It also spread into Los Angeles County late Sunday, Barker said. That fire was started by lightning, and smoke from it blanketed parts of the San Fernando Valley.

One Los Angeles County firefighter assisting in battling that blaze suffered a broken wrist while another was treated for heat exhaustion, she said.

A 2,200-acre grass fire that started shortly after 1 p.m. burned within a mile of San Clemente on the Orange County coast, said Capt. Hank Raymond of the county Fire Department.

Firefighters scrambled to keep the fire away from homes valued at up to $500,000 as flames burned near Interstate 5 and the Ortega Highway a few miles north of the city, he said. It was still burning late Sunday.

Blaze Near Forest

Elsewhere, U.S. Forest Service firefighters battled a 108-acre blaze in the Mt. Baldy area next to Angeles National Forest, and contained it by 6 p.m. The cause was under investigation.

In Los Angeles, a fire erupted in brush shortly after noon in Griffith Park east of Traveltown, Los Angeles City Fire Department spokesman Jim Wells said. It spread from two to five acres in about 30 minutes, but 35 firefighters, assisted by two water-dropping helicopters, extinguished the blaze in less than an hour, Wells said. The cause of the fire was under investigation.

In San Dimas, a grass fire burned two acres in Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park, where 45 Los Angeles County firefighters took about two hours to extinguish it. County spokesmen said no injuries were reported nor were homes damaged from that fire.