SANTA CLARITA : Weather Helps Crew Contain Brush Fire

Rain and a drop in winds helped firefighters contain a 100-acre brush fire in Newhall on Thursday that broke out just minutes before a blaze in Val Verde that burned 30 acres, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said.

The Newhall fire was controlled by 4 p.m. It burned west of the Antelope Valley Freeway between Placerita Canyon Road and Soledad Canyon Road, Assistant County Fire Chief Gary Nelson said.

Nearly 300 county, U.S. Forest Service and Los Angeles city firefighters battled the flames that broke out at 1:21 p.m. on Mad Road, a mile northwest of the Sierra Highway, said Dennis Vlach, a county fire inspector.

Firefighters were aided by a break in the weather when northeasterly winds that had been blowing 20 m.p.h. died down around 4 p.m., said Capt. Rob Smith of Fire Station 107 in Santa Clarita. Heavy rains that lasted about 10 minutes also helped.

Four helicopters dropped water on the blaze while bulldozers carved lines around the flames, stopping the fire 100 yards from a schoolyard, Vlach said.

Flames came within 100 yards of two munitions bunkers on the southern tip of Golden Valley Road that are now used to store hazardous wastes and other chemicals, Smith said. The blaze also threatened several other industrial buildings near the bunkers.

No structures were damaged and no injuries were reported, Vlach said. Authorities suspect that the fire was ignited by fireworks known as bottle rockets.

Meanwhile, more than 200 county firefighters simultaneously battled a blaze that broke out at 1:30 p.m. near Del Valle Road in Val Verde, Vlach said. The blaze was contained by 3:30 p.m. and did threaten any structures.

The cause of the smaller fire was undetermined, Vlach said.