Winds, Heat Fan Brush Fires in 4 Counties

Scorching temperatures and high winds fanned wildfires across Southern California on Saturday, as hundreds of firefighters in four counties battled blazes that left more than 4,000 acres charred and a handful of homes destroyed.

No injuries were reported in any of the fires, the largest of which broke out in Angeles National Forest in eastern Los Angeles County about 11:30 a.m. In that blaze, flames quickly skipped the San Bernardino County line, consuming an estimated 2,000 acres near Pinon Hills by early evening, when about 800 firefighters from the two counties began to get the upper hand, said Los Angeles County fire dispatcher Cheryl Patterson.

At least 10 houses and one mobile home were destroyed in the fire, which sent many residents fleeing with their livestock. The Red Cross set up a relief station at Pinon Mesa Middle School in Phelan, Fire Department Inspector Michael Chuck said.

In Riverside County, about 45 miles east of Hemet, another fire blackened 850 acres. No damage was reported, but evacuation orders were issued for the city of Anza. Firefighters had contained about a third of the fire by nightfall.

In the expensive west San Fernando Valley enclave of Porter Ranch, a brush fire erupted just before 4 p.m. above a tract of homes in the 19000 block of West Kilfinan Street and burned about 60 acres, said Jim Wells, a spokesman for the Los Angeles City Fire Department. The fire was contained by early evening.

Another 500 acres burned in Angeles National Forest, Patterson said. The fire apparently erupted at the Kentucky Springs Shooting Range on Kentucky Springs Road and Angeles Crest Highway. The blaze was still out of control at 8 p.m., Patterson said.

Orange County firefighters contained a brush fire that burned about 700 acres near Olinda Village on Saturday night. No structures were damaged, but one firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion.

Times staff writers Jeannette Regalado and H.G. Reza contributed to this report.