Fires Fought Near Castaic, Sunland

ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST — Firefighters got the upper hand on a wind-driven wildfire near Castaic Friday but continued to battle flare-ups in another blaze in the hills above Sunland.

As of late Friday afternoon, the fires had caused no injuries but had slightly damaged a structure--believed to be an outbuilding--in Little Tujunga Canyon, according to a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman.

About 190 firefighters from Los Angeles city and county departments and the U.S. Forest Service worked throughout Thursday night and Friday to contain the Little Tujunga Canyon blaze above Sunland with the aid of five water-dropping helicopters.

That fire, which charred 450 acres, was expected to be fully under control by nightfall Friday, Dianne Cahir of the U.S. Forest Service said.

“Fire season officially began May 1 for the Angeles National Forest,” Cahir said. “It just goes to show that people need to be aware and take necessary precautions.”

The Sunland fire began about 2 p.m. Thursday near a shooting range in the 12600 block of Little Tujunga Canyon Road. Authorities said they believed the fire was “attributable” to “shooting activity at the nearby range,” but added an “investigation was in progress to determine the exact cause of the blaze.”

In Castaic, meanwhile, 250 firefighters had fully contained a 150-acre blaze that caused the evacuation of six residences Thursday. That fire began near San Francisquito Canyon Road and Lady Linda Lane, county fire officials said.

The area, north of Castaic, is in an unincorporated part of the county.

“As of this morning we have a complete line around the fire, it is 100% contained, and all our firefighting resources have been released,” said John Holt of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

“Having these two fires break out yesterday just goes to show a major brush fire can occur at any time,” Holt said. “We are recommending residents who live in the brush area take all fire safety precautions due to the dry conditions.”

Ironically, Cahir said, the conditions are so dry from lack of rain that people have accidentally sparked blazes while trying to clear brush from around their homes.

“We’ve had a number of small fires that were sparked by people trying to clear their brush with lawn mowers or weed-whackers,” Cahir said. “They should have a shovel and water available to douse a possible fire.”