2 Brush Fires Char 10,700 Acres and Destroy 7 Homes

Brush fires in the mountains rimming the Antelope Valley and in the Cleveland National Forest destroyed seven homes Wednesday and left three firefighters injured, authorities said.

A 7,000-acre blaze in the Cleveland National Forest destroyed six homes in the Decker Canyon-Lakeland Village area of Lake Elsinore, state Department of Forestry officials said.

The fire forced at least 200 Lake Elsinore-area residents from their homes, authorities said. Three firefighters were injured, one seriously with a sprained back, while battling the fire, officials said. No containment time was predicted.

Pushed by wind gusts up to 40 m.p.h., the Antelope Valley blaze had consumed more than 3,700 acres and prompted officials to evacuate between 1,000 and 1,500 people from the isolated rural community of Elizabeth Lake. At least one home and two barns were destroyed, Los Angeles County Fire Department officials said.

The Antelope Valley fire was about 30% contained late Wednesday night, and full containment was expected this afternoon, fire officials said. The blaze was burning northeastward into mostly unpopulated land between Elizabeth Lake and the California Aqueduct.

A force of 200 county firefighters and 100 from the U.S. Forest Service, backed by four helicopters and four airplanes dropping retardant, battled the blaze. Firefighters were also helped when winds dropped to 10 to 20 m.p.h. No injuries were reported and the cause was undetermined.

The fire broke out shortly before 2 p.m. near the San Francisquito Canyon Campground and roared toward the northeast, threatening Elizabeth Lake, a community of about 2,500, 15 miles west of Lancaster.

Sheriff’s deputies drove the roads of Elizabeth Lake, urging inhabitants to flee as the fire came to within yards of the southern edge of the community. Many of the evacuees gathered at roadblocks at the foot of the mountains, where they were joined by other residents, trying to hurry home from jobs in Los Angeles.

The fire was so hot that “I was surprised we only lost one home,” Assistant County Fire Chief Leon Provost said.

Flames surrounded some homes and burned within inches of them before firefighters beat them back, he said.

The Red Cross established an evacuation center at Quartz Hill High School, but residents were allowed to return to their homes shortly after nightfall.

In Orange and Riverside counties, 1,400 firefighters battled the Cleveland National Forest blaze, which was still unchecked late Wednesday, officials said.

“It’s an area near the base of the mountain, where the fire sweeps down like a freight train,” state Forestry Department Capt. Paul Smith said. “We’ve got lots of thick smoke and hot spots all over.”

Pat Rambo, a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department employee in Lake Elsinore, said: “The smoke is so bad, you feel like you could cut it with a knife. We’re also getting ashes falling all over the place.”

Wind gusts were pushing the fire in several directions, but by late afternoon, one arm of the blaze was moving toward Lakeland Village, a mile south of Lake Elsinore, and another was heading toward Rancho Capistrano, 5 1/2 miles south of Ortega Highway, said Carol Stein, a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman.

At Rancho Capistrano, 200 residents were evacuated at mid-afternoon to Lake Elsinore High School, where the Red Cross established a relief center. By 6 p.m., dozens more people living in the Lakeland Village area were also ordered out when the blaze moved within a mile of homes on the west shore of Lake Elsinore.

By late afternoon, the fire, which had slowed during the day, was revived by erratic winds and began sweeping eastward out of the mountains toward Lake Elsinore. Scores of firefighters from 50 engine companies attempted to build a fire break between the blaze and Lakeland Village.

“It’s headed straight for Lakeland Village,” Forestry Department spokesman Bob Paul said Wednesday evening. “We’re pouring everything we have into protecting those homes.”

Despite the efforts, six homes in the area were destroyed.

Evacuations of a nudist camp, a youth correctional facility and campgrounds Tuesday night proved unnecessary, officials said.

Authorities said thick dry brush that has not burned in 30 years fueled the rapid spread of the Cleveland National Forest blaze, which gobbled up 3,000 acres of chaparral in five hours Tuesday.

Because of the three-year drought-parched conditions of the chaparral covered land, officials said they brought in a large number of firefighters--from as far away as Washington state--to attack the flames from the air and ground.

“We’re ready for a battle,” Tom Horner, U.S. Forestry Service spokesman said Wednesday.

The cause of the fire, which erupted at 3:15 p.m. Tuesday, a quarter mile from the border of Orange and Riverside counties, has not been determined. But officials said they suspected some individual was responsible, reasoning that there were no burning cars, electrical wires or lightning flashes in the area.

“There was nothing out there but brush and a road,” said Forest Service Engineer Jim Parkinson, whose engine company was the first to arrive at the blaze.

Ortega Highway (California 74), the primary link between south Orange County and Lake Elsinore, has been closed since the fire broke out, forcing commuters to take lengthy detours.

The California Highway Patrol said Wednesday that, even if the fire were contained today, a 25-mile stretch of the two-lane highway would remain closed between Caspers Regional Park and Grand Avenue in Lake Elsinore for at least two days so that fire damage could be repaired.

Times staff writers Edward J. Boyer, Thomas Becher, Steven R. Churm, Richard Lee Colvin, Gabe Fuentes and Ted Johnson contributed to this story.