Fire Above Azusa Flares Up, Delaying Chances for Control

Firefighters plan to spend the entire Fourth of July weekend continuing to battle a stubborn canyon fire in the Angeles National Forest near Azusa that flared up again Friday.

The 4-day-old blaze made a significant run north deeper into the mountainous brush terrain above San Gabriel Canyon, spreading across a total of 3,040 acres, authorities said. No additional homes were threatened.

The U.S. Forest Service declared the Roberts Canyon fire--called for the canyon just west of San Gabriel Canyon--80% contained Friday. But after the flare-up, fire officials said they did not expect to bring the blaze under full control until Monday night, instead of today.

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Forest Service spokeswoman Dianne Cahir said the flare-up pushed the flames into less accessible terrain and expanded the charred acreage by nearly a third.

“It’s burning farther into the forest,” she said.

Elsewhere, firefighters had put out a blaze that consumed about 400 acres Thursday in Santa Clarita and came within yards of homes. On Friday, firefighters were wetting down a few hot spots.

The fire above Azusa has consumed one home and two outbuildings and slightly damaged a second home. Two people had panic attacks, another had a heart attack and three firefighters suffered minor injuries, the Forest Service said.

Nearly 900 firefighters continued Friday to battle the flames in temperatures close to 100 degrees, officials said.

“We are getting into the fatigue factor,” said Sonia Berry, a Forest Service spokeswoman. “They are having to deal with high heat, low humidity and a blaze in very steep terrain laced with heavy brush.”

In an effort to stop the flames from spreading, firefighters lighted backfires on the blaze’s northern border, hoping to burn off potential fuel, officials said.

San Gabriel Canyon Road, a popular access route from the east San Gabriel Valley to East Fork Road in the mountains, remained closed to most of the public Friday.

Officials had hoped to get the picnic route known as Barbecue Alley open for some of the holiday weekend but the flare-up delayed those plans. “The road is lined with firetrucks, and firefighters are everywhere,” Berry said.

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Only residents and vacationers with reservations at Follows Camp, Camp Williams and the Crystal Lake campground are being allowed up San Gabriel Canyon Road (California 39). The East Fork area of the canyon remained open, accessible by taking Mount Baldy Road to Glendora Ridge Road to Glendora Mountain Road to East Fork Road, officials said.

Firefighting costs were expected to reach $4.9 million. The blaze was sparked Tuesday by a canyon resident using a weed trimmer to clear brush as a fire precaution.

Forest Service biologist Bill Brown said that in the long run, the flames in such a remote area will burn off chaparral and possibly prevent a catastrophic fire closer to an urban area. But he said the charred land may leave less vegetation to prevent mud and rain from flowing off the foothills.