Wildfire rages in Sierra Madre
By Brett Noble
April 28, 2008 9:53 p.m.
Firefighters are battling flames in a wildfire east of Los Angeles, which has resulted in the mandatory evacuation of more than 1,000 residents, including some UCLA students and their families.
“This is pretty serious. Some of these areas have not burned in over 40 years,” said Elisa Weaver, a city spokeswoman.
There were more than 580 firefighters working on the blaze, and officials said the fire had burned 490 acres by Monday, but they anticipate weather conditions such as calmer wind and rising humidity to assist crews.
Containment had fallen from 30 percent to 23 percent because a burst of wind Sunday night that pushed flames past some containment lines and within yards of several houses.
Malina Tavakkoli, a third-year economics student and resident of Duarte, struggled with her family to evacuate her aunt’s house as the flames approached.
“We started throwing whatever memorable and valuable things we could into the car … like the kids’ photo albums, rugs and some clothes. … The smoke is so thick that you can’t stand up there longer than five minutes without coughing,” Tavakkoli said.
Mary Claire Malooly, a first-year physiological science student, has lived in Sierra Madre her whole life.
“My family’s been there for 18 years, so I don’t think this will make them want to move,” Malooly said.
Malooly’s family was asked to voluntarily evacuate, and her sister began packing their car 3 a.m. Monday morning. They are waiting to see if the winds will die down, she said.
School officials cancelled classes on Monday, and while officials said no homes have burned since the fire began, two firefighters were treated for minor injuries.
Investigators had not yet determined the cause of the fire.
The blaze had been creeping northwest into the Angeles National Forest, Battalion Chief Tim Davis of the Forest Service said Sunday.
“It’s very steep, inaccessible terrain, and it’s very heavy brush,” Davis said at a news conference. “Very difficult and arduous labor for these crews. You can’t get bulldozers into the majority of where these fingers of fire run.”
With reports from Bruin wire services
