Firefighters Lose Control of Controlled Burn

A 400-acre controlled burn in the San Gabriel Mountains north of here caused some anxious moments Monday for residents, who feared they were seeing a wildfire, authorities said.

“We received dozens of calls all day inquiring about the fire,” said Michael Shedd of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. “They wanted to know if it had been reported and if it was a brush fire or controlled burn.”

The controlled burn in the May Canyon area between Sylmar and Santa Clarita was conducted by the Los Angeles County Fire Department and the U.S. Forest Service. The fires were set at 8 a.m., seven miles east of the Golden State Freeway and Antelope Freeway interchange, said Forest Service spokeswoman Gail Wright.

The plan was to burn 400 to 500 acres of brush. But firefighters lost control of the blaze Monday evening and it consumed at least 20 acres outside the burn area, Wright said.

She said the fire was in a remote area far from homes, and that officials expect to have the fire fully contained by early today.

Controlled burns help prevent wildfires during late fall when the driest, most dangerous fire conditions exist, Wright said.

“We go into areas where it would benefit us to get rid of the underbrush,” she said. “Where we don’t, the fires burn hotter and may burn much more rapidly.”