Crews contain wildfires in Angeles National Forest north of Arcadia, Tujunga

Fire crews had to contend with temperatures in the mid-80s and steep, rocky terrain on Monday as they battled a wildfire north of Arcadia in Angeles National Forest. The fire was fully contained by early evening.

The blaze, 100% contained by 6 p.m., burned 5.8 acres in the Santa Anita Canyon area, the U.S. Forest Service said Monday night. Ground crews from the Forest Service, the Los Angeles County Fire Department and the Arcadia Fire Department responded to the fire when it was first reported Sunday around 4 p.m.

A second fire within Angeles National Forest broke out around 2:30 p.m. Monday north of Tujunga in the area of Vogel and Big Tujunga Canyon roads. Forward progress of the fire was stopped by 4:15 p.m., with the burn area contained to under an acre, forest officials said.

Overnight, helicopters battling the blaze north of Arcadia dropped water on hot spots in what is being called the Chantry fire.

The fire burned in the footprint of 2020’s Bobcat fire, which scorched roughly 115,000 acres between the San Gabriel and Antelope valleys. Nearly a hundred homes were destroyed in the fire, which may have been sparked by downed power lines.

Roughly 200 firefighters responded to the blaze, and a fire warning was in effect Sunday for recreational cabins and several other buildings in the forest, but that warning was lifted by Monday morning, officials said.

One firefighter received a minor injury, said John Miller with the National Forest Service.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Officials remind people that fireworks — even sparklers — are not allowed in the forest. Wood and charcoal fires are allowed only in designated campfire rings in campgrounds or on Forest Service-provided grills.

Temperatures on Monday peaked in the mid-80s and the humidity remained above 50%, said meteorologist Ryan Kittell with the National Weather Service office in Oxnard.

Sustained winds in the area were expected to reach 5 to 10 mph, with brief gusts peaking at 15 mph, Kittell said.

The vegetation in the area is caught between the transition of the wet and dry months, Kittell said. Some areas are still wet from the rains earlier this year, while other areas are already starting to dry.

“Once we get into August,” Kittell said, “that’s when the fuels are ready to burn.”