Hundreds of firefighters struggled to contain a wildfire
that burned dangerously close to homes at the foot of the rugged
The dramatic battle lasting for three days has destroyed 538
acres of forest and has forced at least 1,000 people from homes in and near
Firefighters succeeded to gain ground against the blaze with
helicopters and tankers dropping tons of water and fire retardant from the sky.
Much of the blaze was contained, but the powerful winds threaten to reverse
some of those gains.
The blaze was about 23 percent contained Monday morning down
from 30 percent Sunday night. No homes have burned, but structures are still
threatened. Full containment was not expected for four to seven days.
“Early this morning the flames had raced to within a couple
feet of our homes in the canyon and those brave firefighters…formed a perimeter
with their bodies and their fire engines. It was a barricade of steel and water
and human flesh and blood and they stopped the fire dead in its tracks,” Mayor
Kurt Zimmerman said visibly emotional at a news conference as quoted by the
Associated Press.
Schools throughout Sierra Madre were closed on Monday and
hundreds of the 11,000 residents, who have already evacuated, were warned to
seek safe ground.
The cause of the fire is still unknown, but, according to
Tim Davis, a battalion chief with the U.S. Forest Service, the fire was aided
by dry brush and shrubs, which were particularly vulnerable because the area
had not experienced a wildfire in more than 30 years.
Four firefighters had minor injuries, authorities said, and
a small building was destroyed. Also, 50 guests from a wedding party at the
Chantry Flats ranger station were airlifted out Sunday afternoon.
“It was sort of shocking. I didn’t think we were going to be
airlifted out,” the bride, Julie Grady said, according to CNN.
Southern California is frequently hit by scorching wildfires
due to its dry climate,
Last October, devastating wildfires were among the worst in