Ranch fire triggers evacuations for residents of Azusa’s Mountain Cove community

Officials issued mandatory evacuation orders Thursday as the Ranch fire threatened Azusa’s Mountain Cove community.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department was alerted to the brush fire at 2:45 p.m., spokeswoman Leslie Lua said. Firefighters responded to North San Gabriel Canyon Road and North Ranch Road.

By about 8:30 pm, the fire had burned 3,000 acres with zero containment, according to the Azusa Police Department.

Officials said that the fire is burning in the hillsides by the Mountain Cove community and that there is no imminent threat to structures.

But residents of Mountain Cove who live north and west of Turning Leaf Way and Boulder Ridge Court, as well as south of Highwood Court, were placed under mandatory evacuation orders in the midafternoon.

Voluntary evacuation warnings were also issued for residents north of Highwood Court. Evacuated residents can seek help at Azusa Pacific University, the Police Department said. The Fairplex in Pomona is accepting horses in need of boarding. Owners will need to bring food, water and bedding for horses.

The northbound lanes of Highway 39 at Sierra Madre Avenue and the southbound lanes of the highway at East Fork Road are closed, according to the California Department of Transportation.