Fire Crews Have 2 Angeles Forest Blazes in Hand

Aided by unseasonably damp weather, firefighters declared victory Friday night over two fires that chewed through 1,650 acres of brush this week in Angeles National Forest.

By 6 p.m., no flames were visible among the smoking ruins and bulldozers finished cutting fuel breaks around the 1,500-acre Gorman fire, about 50 miles northwest of Los Angeles. The 150-acre Wildwood fire in Big Tujunga Canyon, about 15 miles northeast of the city, was expected to be fully contained by early today.

Crews remained at both scenes overnight to watch for flare-ups.

Causes of the fires were under investigation.

As the first day of summer dawned, crews battling the Wildwood fire found themselves enveloped in heavy fog, U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Susie Wood said, adding that the drizzly weather “really helped.”

The Gorman fire, also called the Copco fire, destroyed three outbuildings. About 40 structures, including homes and recreational cabins, were initially in the path of the Wildwood fire, but fire officials did not feel the threat was sufficient to order evacuations.

Officials said the cost of fighting the Gorman fire was about $1 million, and the Wildwood fire cost was about $300,000.

Wood said firefighting crews are hoping for a respite from a string of fires that has devoured brush land all over California. In recent weeks the Forest Service has been continuously “moving crews and equipment from one fire to the next,” she said. “It’s going to be a rough season.”

Officials said Friday they were investigating whether a 21,000-acre blaze burning near Yosemite National Park was sparked by a campfire used by U.S. Marine mountain warfare trainees. The blaze, which began burning last week, was 30% contained Friday, but earlier had forced the evacuation of the town of Walker. Three firefighters were also killed in an air tanker crash.

Meanwhile, in San Diego County, the Troy fire was expected to be fully contained Friday night after burning 1,500 acres and three cabins.

*

Times staff writer Jessica Garrison contributed to this report.