Fire Prompts Evacuations in La Verne

Nearly 100 homes in the small community of La Verne were evacuated Monday night as a 5,000-acre wildfire raged out of control in the San Gabriel Mountains.

The fire was within a quarter-mile to a half-mile of the homes by 11 p.m., said Bruce Quintelier, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service.

About 1,000 firefighters were battling the blaze in the Angeles National Forest, but it was only 10% contained, said Linda Steinberg, also a Forest Service spokesperson.

The blaze, in the East Fork of San Gabriel Canyon about 30 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles, created a ceiling of brown smoke that draped Glendora and other suburbs on the foothills of the mountains.

The homes that were evacuated are between Wheeler Avenue and Live Oak Canyon Road, and in another location in the Bluebird Estates near Glendora.

Voluntary evacuations were suggested at another 400 to 500 homes north of Golden Hills Road. The Red Cross set up a temporary shelter at Bonita High School.

There was no estimate for when the blaze might be surrounded, Steinberg said.

“We are experiencing extreme fire conditions: rugged terrain, heavy brush, and we’re looking at 100-plus temperatures.”

So far, no injuries were reported and no structures were lost.

Firefighters were protecting 77 cabins and Johnstone Peak, home to ham radio repeaters, cell phone towers and other transmission devices, Steinberg said.

The cause of the fire was under investigation.

California 39 into San Gabriel Canyon remained closed, along with a few mountain roads.

Firefighters were being aided by eight helicopters and nine air tankers.

The wildfire erupted Sunday evening near Camp Williams and Camp Follows, two privately owned campgrounds. About 2,000 campers evacuated.

“A bunch of us got in a circle and held hands and prayed,” said Lynn Piazza, who had to leave Camp Williams on Sunday.

The fire burned three miles southeast of an area scorched earlier this month by a 16,000-acre fire.

Another fire was burning over 150 acres in a Santa Clara County park west of Morgan Hill. Hundreds of firefighters attacked the flames on the ground while 10 planes and helicopters aided from the air.

That fire burned in Uvas Canyon County Park, a wooded park of more than 1,200 acres on the eastern side of the Santa Cruz Mountains, about 55 miles south of San Francisco. Heavy smoke from the fire was visible in Santa Cruz.

About 200 firefighters were on the scene along with four helicopters, six air tankers and one air attack, and the blaze was moving southeast, a California Department of Forestry spokeswoman said.