Jan Wesner Childs
As crews battled for another day to contain the explosive Lake Fire north of Los Angeles, a second wildfire broke out that forced more people to flee their homes.
The latest blaze, dubbed the Ranch 2 Fire, erupted at about 3 p.m. PDT Thursday and had burned about 4 square miles with 0% containment, according to an update Friday afternoon. Evacuations were ordered for the Mountain Cove community in Azusa, a suburb of Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, the Lake Fire grew to about 18 square miles, and remained at 12% containment Friday afternoon.
Both fires are burning in separate sections of the Angeles National Forest, about an hour apart from each other. Several roads were closed in both areas.
The Lake Fire destroyed several buildings and threatens more than 5,000 other structures, fire officials said Thursday. About 100 homes were under evacuation orders.
The charred remains of what appears to be a burned-out home are seen in the Lake Fire in Angeles National Forest on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020, north of Santa Clarita, California.Wildfires in Oregon and Colorado also prompted evacuations.
At least one home was destroyed by the Mosier Creek Fire in Oregon, burning near the community of Mosier in the Columbia River Gorge, about 70 miles east of Portland.
"Puddles of melted metal and there's nothing left of my parents' house, nothing. Ashes. Ashes and burned-up cars," July Maus told KPTV.
Maus and her family lived on the property with her parents. They all lost everything.
The fire had burned about 1.5 square miles and was 10% contained Friday afternoon.
The Grizzly Creek Fire near Glenwood Springs, Colorado, has shut down parts of Interstate 70 for five straight days, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation. Several homes in the area have been evacuated.
Fire season is ramping up across the West, fueled by hot, dry temperatures that are above average for some areas this time of year.
Temperatures near the California fires are expected to rise in the coming days.
Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby said brief rainfall helped temper the Lake Fire on Thursday. But firefighters are keeping a wary eye on the weather as the forecast remains hot and dry, with high temperatures in the upper 90s to lower 100s into the weekend.
An excessive heat warning was issued by the National Weather Service for Friday through Monday.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
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