Blaze Closes Angeles Forest

A raging wildfire that has scorched 18,000 acres of Angeles National Forest and prompted evacuations from upscale homes caused the shutdown of one of California’s most popular recreational areas Tuesday.

The closure of the national forest, effective until rains bring the end of the fire season, is the first in more than 25 years. Each year, 3.2 million campers, hikers and others ply the trails and enjoy the recreational areas of the Angeles, according to forest service officials.

The flames, about 40 miles east of Los Angeles, created a mantle of smoke that polluted the air from San Bernardino to Pasadena, causing officials to advise residents to avoid outside activities and canceling outside play time for schoolchildren.

U.S. Forest Service spokesman Martin Esparza said the fire, which was of unknown origin, remained active on three separate fronts: east, southeast and west, although the flames moved away from homes in some areas Tuesday afternoon.

Hundreds of people were evacuated and the flames threatened about 1,000 structures, said Los Angeles County Fire Department spokesman Mark Whaling. Some buildings were destroyed.

The national forest closure was an “extreme measure taken for reasons of public safety,” said Forest Service spokesman Bruce Quintelier.

The fire was only 8% contained by midafternoon Tuesday and was not expected to be under control for several days, Quintelier added. Officials said higher temperatures could lead to new flare-ups this morning.

Almost 2,000 firefighters battled the blaze in the San Gabriel Mountains, which could be seen from homes and freeways across a broad section of the region. Jagged terrain and choking smoke were major obstacles, officials said.

The fire broke out Sunday evening on the east fork of the San Gabriel River. Nearby Camp Williams and Camp Follows were evacuated that night. About 44 recreational dwellings were destroyed; officials believe they ranged from primitive shacks to second homes.

On Monday and Tuesday, homes in San Dimas, Claremont, Glendora, La Verne and a 300-home community named Mt. Baldy Village above Upland were evacuated as flames ripped through the foothills.

“You could literally feel and hear the whistling of the fire,” said Daniel McGuire, 20, who helped his parents evacuate from their home of 14 years. “It was just whooshing by you.”

McGuire ran through his home, urging his mother to keep packing until the last possible minute. “Focus, Mom, focus!” he shouted as he loaded four cars with the family’s belongings.

“It was bright red, like an atom bomb had just hit,” said Tim Durfield, 30, gesturing toward the smoke-covered hill, dotted with flames, just behind the house where he lives with his parents.

“When you buy a home this close to the foothills, the scenery is great but the danger is also great,” Durfield’s father, Rick, said with a sigh. “This is a risk that you take.”

The two men spent all Monday night and Tuesday morning cooking meals and feeding the firefighters who gathered on the street by their home. On Tuesday morning, the firefighters ignited a controlled burn close to the Durfields’ house and neighboring homes, hoping to eliminate brush that could serve as fuel. By setting the burn in the morning, firefighters believed they would save the homes, which would be in greater danger when the afternoon winds picked up.

At midday, the scheme appeared to have worked. The blaze had progressed up the hill, away from homes, rather than down. While the scrubby land just 30 yards away smoldered, Rick Durfield, a psychology professor at Azusa Pacific University, said he felt relief for the first time.

In addition to concern over saving homes, there was another worry: air quality. The South Coast Air Quality Management District issued a special advisory, forecasting unhealthful levels of fine particulates in areas affected by smoke.

County health officials urged residents to take precautions such as keeping their doors and windows closed. They advised those traveling in cars to roll up their windows and set ventilation systems to recirculate.

Although air quality was expected to be good to moderate in most parts of Los Angeles County on Tuesday, pollution levels were anticipated to reach unhealthful levels in areas affected by the smoke.

Those areas included the east San Fernando Valley, most of the San Gabriel Valley, Pomona-Walnut Valley, Norco-Corona, metropolitan Riverside County and most of the San Bernardino Valley, officials said.

“It’s exceptionally smoky from Pasadena east to San Bernardino as a result of the fires, and some smoke has even slipped into the San Fernando Valley,” said Joe Cassamassi, a meteorologist with the AQMD. “This is due to a strong high-pressure area and stagnant conditions resulting from light winds. “

Cassamassi said the air district urged people to stay indoors as much as possible and to limit outdoor excursions.

People with heart disease, asthma, emphysema or other chronic lung diseases are particularly vulnerable to ill effects from poor air quality.

School officials near the fire area heeded the advisory.

At La Verne Heights Elementary School, where 407 students are enrolled, children were kept inside throughout the day, said health clerk Ulrike Fogg. No playground time was allowed.

Not everyone, however, had the luxury of thinking about the air quality. Ross Banks, 38, an executive with a printing company, worried about the destruction of his brand-new home in a neighborhood that he loved because he could hear owls hoot at night.

Banks and his family were initially told they would have an hour’s notice before they were evacuated from the home that they moved into six months ago. Then a police officer announced that they had 10 minutes.

Banks’ 6-year-old daughter, Megan, snatched up her dolls. Kyle, 7, got his playing cards; Tyler, 8, grabbed his collection of football and hockey memorabilia. Ashley, 11, took the books that her grandparents had given her. Banks and his wife collected photographs, pictures and documents.

Banks dropped off the kids at their grandparents’ in San Dimas, and returned to hose down the house. At 4:30 a.m. Tuesday, filthy and exhausted, he went to sleep on the floor. After a few hours, he awoke with a slightly new perspective on the place he calls home.

“It’s quiet, peaceful, and serene--those are the advantages,” he said. Then Banks turned to face a hillside where flames still burned. “This, obviously, is the disadvantage.”

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Times staff writers Daniel Hernandez, Eric Malnic and Geoffrey Mohan contributed to this report.