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The fire situation in southern California is straining the areas resources.  Equipment and manpower from other regions of the state have been deployed and many of them are already in the Los Angeles and Orange County areas assisting local fire crews.

Sylmar ‘Sayre’ Brush Fire

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Corona, Yorba Linda ‘Triangle Complex’ Fire

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Montecito ‘Tea’ Fire

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The Freeway Complex fire that has already hopscotched from one city to another in the hills between Anaheim, Corona and Chino made a quick turn to the north Sunday morning, threatening homes in the Los Angeles County city of Diamond Bar.

The gated Country Estates section in Diamond Bar was the first section firefighters decided to evacuate.

To the south, the Orange County Fire Authority called for renewed evacuations in Yorba Linda, as erratic winds again threatened homes that escaped the first wave of fire Saturday.

Officials in Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties grappled with evacuating thousands of residents from Chino Hills south into Anaheim.

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Dozens of residences in unincorporated villages like Sleepy Hollow and Olinda were lost to fire, as the fast-moving fire destroyed at least 100
residences.

At least 15 homes in an exclusive Yorba Linda enclave burned after water
ran out, fire officials said today.

The fire was renamed the Triangle Complex Fire, then the Freeway Complex Fire.

As many as 40,000 people were ordered out of their homes in the four
counties by mid-morning.

Story by CBS2

In a swiftly moving catastrophe that seemed as familiar as it was shocking, Southern California once again was besieged by flame Saturday, from Orange County to Santa Barbara, with hundreds of homes consumed by three major wind-driven fires, including one of the most devastating blazes ever to strike the city of Los Angeles.

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At least 30,000 people were ordered to evacuate their homes amid smoke that blew like stinging fog through wind-ravaged canyons. Major freeways, including Interstate 5 and the 91 and 71 freeways, were closed, making escape tricky for some. More than 500 mobile homes were destroyed at a community in Sylmar; and about 100 houses and apartments were damaged or destroyed in Riverside and Orange counties. The numbers were expected to grow.

Fire erupted at about 9 a.m. in Corona, in Riverside County. Dubbed the Freeway Complex fire — it started near the westbound 91 Freeway not far from the 71 Freeway — the blaze damaged or destroyed 16 homes in Corona before following the Santa Ana Canyon into Orange County. It destroyed or damaged at least 30 homes in Yorba Linda, then spread to Anaheim Hills, igniting at least 10 homes and 50 apartments. By nightfall, it had scorched nearly 6,000 acres and was just 5% contained.

“The embers are falling miles ahead of the fire front,” said Kris Concepcion, a battalion chief with the Orange County Fire Authority. “That’s what is creating a lot of the problems, and the wind is a challenge.”

One of those fires swept through the Cascade Apartments near Santa Ana Canyon Road in Anaheim Hills, a 250-unit complex set into a hillside, where apartments rent for as much as $2,000 a month.

By Saturday afternoon, a thick layer of smoke hung over the apartments. One resident huffed and puffed as he marched through it.

“I gotta get my dog out,” he growled, without interrupting his stride. Wearing flip-flops, he slogged through puddles left by fire hoses and vanished into the haze.

Firefighter Patrick Ochoa, a veteran of numerous major fires in Southern California who was among the first responders to the Freeway Complex fire, said he could recall no fire as difficult to fight.

“Nothing has been as devastating in O.C. as this,” he said. “This is horrendous.”

In Yorba Linda, wind-driven embers ignited at least five homes on one block of San Antonio Road, and firefighters were struggling to keep the fire east of Fairmont Boulevard, which divides Yorba Linda roughly in half. Streets struck particularly hard by the fire included Hidden Hills Road, Mission Hills Lane and Stonehaven Drive.

A separate fire a few miles north in Brea severely damaged Brea Canyon High School, a continuation school.

More than 20,000 people were ordered to evacuate the Orange County burn area, sometimes under treacherous conditions. Bobby Johnson, 18, of Yorba Linda left on the 57 Freeway, driving through fire on both sides of the road. “It was a valley of flame,” he said.

Portions of the 91, 71 and 55 freeways and the 241 toll road were closed, as were freeways in Los Angeles County, including portions of Interstate 5 and the 14 and 210 freeways.

The fire in Sylmar, known as the Sayre fire, began late Friday night and swept through the Oakridge Mobile Home Park, parts of which had burned after the 1994 Northridge earthquake. The toll appeared to be the largest number of housing units lost to fire in the city of Los Angeles, surpassing the 484 residences destroyed in the 1961 Bel-Air fire.

A dangerous, fast-moving brush fire in the Sylmar section of the San Fernando Valley, spread by gusting 50 mph winds has now burned at least three homes and is threatening several more, City Fire Department spokesperson Melissa Kelly said today.

So far there are no reports of injuries to residents or fire personnel, said Kelly.

The blaze ignited about 10:30 p.m. in the dry, brushy hills above 13000 W. Sayre Street near Shablow Ave, and has so far consumed 100 acres, said Kelly

Story by Fox 11 LA

On Friday, November 14, 2008 at 10:43 PM, three engine companies of Bullhead City Firefighters, one rescue ambulance, under the command of Battalion Chief Craig Stephenson responded to a residential structure fire at 694 Palo Verde Drive.

Bullhead City Firefighter Jeremy Cady and Captain Steve Campbell removed the debris and window blinds that were destroyed in the fire.

Arriving firefighters observed the front glass door had already been broken.  With black smoke showing from the interior, and the smoke level was to the floor, a simultaneous interior attack was ordered through the front door.

A small working fire was found in a bedroom.   This was a small carpet fire that had smoldered for a while.  The fire was limited to the bedroom.  However, two additional burn patterns were found in the master bedroom and in the living room.  These two carpet fires burned out prior to our arrival.

These three fires were considered to be debility set.  The investigation will continue with the Bullhead City Police department.

No one was living in this residence.  The home was brand new with no evidence that anyone was living in the home.

Written and Submitted to West Coast 911 courtesy of Larry Tunforss / Bullhead City PIO

As a wildfire that devastated the wealthy enclave of Montecito settled down late Friday, a second blaze erupted in Sylmar amid heavy winds and destroyed at least three structures and scorched 100 acres, authorities said.

The Montecito blaze destroyed 111 residences and damaged nine near Santa Barbara before flame-stoking winds died down and the fire stabilized. However, authorities cautioned that the totals could go higher; 1,500 homes were still threatened, and the fire was not contained. Flames had consumed 1,800 acres, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

the Montecito fire was smaller than many of the wildfires that have ravaged Southern California in recent years, but its speed and ferocity exacted a huge toll in property damage and left residents stunned. After breaking out at 6 p.m. Thursday, the fire raced unchecked through the populated slopes of the Santa Ynez Mountains, exacerbated by 70 mph winds, combustible brush and narrow roads that became clogged with incoming fire crews and outgoing evacuees.

“This thing came on so fast, you just couldn’t believe it,” actor and homeowner Rob Lowe said Friday. “Embers were raining down, they were in our hair, they were in our shirts. . . . It was absolutely Armageddon.”

Another resident said he was awed by the fire’s destructive force.

“We watched probably about $60 million” worth of houses “just burning out on Mountain Valley, a real posh area,” said Paul Morison, who defended and saved his own home in the Riviera area of Montecito. “This morning they’re gone. . . . The big house we used to look at, probably over 10,000 square feet, there’s nothing.”

Story by LA Times

San Bernardino City Fire Department received multiple calls for a house fire at the above location early this afternoon. First arriving units encountered heavy fire and smoke involvement to several rooms of an occupied residence, which had also spread into the attic.

Multiple structures and vehicles were threatened from fire exposure. San Bernardino Firefighters made an aggressive attack on the structure. The extreme rate of fire spread was due to high winds of up to 40mph.

It took 26 firefighters 18 minutes to control the blaze. 3 people were displaced and are taking shelter with family.

SBFD investigators have determined that the fire originated at a multi-port receptacle adapter that did not have surge protection.

A brush fire is burning in the hills above Santa Barbara and Montecito. The fire, dubbed the “T” Fire, broke out just before 6 p.m.

Firefighters responded to foothills after residents reported seeing smoke and flames.

The fire has burned up to 300 acres. Some structures have burned, and others are threatened.

The Santa Barbara City Fire Department has ordered evacuations for residents living north of Mountain Dr and Cold Springs.

A reverse 911 call issued for residents living in the Montecito and Santa Barbara foothills.

According to the Montecito Fire Department, the mandatory evacuation area is Hwy 192 (East Valley Rd/Sycamore Cyn Rd.) between Cold Springs Rd and Hot Springs Rd.

An emergency shelter was set up at a San Marcus High School at 4750 Hollister Avenue in Santa Barbara and students at Westmont College were told to gather in the school’s gym.

Wind gusts were being clocked as high as 70 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

Fire information Line:
805-681-5197

Story by Fox 11 News

HESPERIA • A fire has broken out at a home in the 16000 block of Burwood Road, near Seventh Avenue and Bear Valley Road, according to initial reports.

The home, confirmed to be abandoned, was fully engulfed around 4:10 p.m. Wednesday. The  home is directly across the street from Mojave Vista Elementary School Park, according to reports.

Fire officials were escorting children and their parents away from the scene.
Witnesses in the area reported that the home had been abandoned from quite some time and had been used as a hang out spot by teens, transients and possible drug users.

Story and photo by VV Daily Press / newstip by J. Kern - SBcoFD

At exactly 10 a.m. tomorrow, about 5 million people in Southern California will drop to the ground, take cover under a sturdy piece of furniture and hold on at the same time. Radio stations and school p.a. systems will play a sound track of rumbling and crashing, along with a man’s voice declaring, “If this were the magnitude 7.8 earthquake we’re practicing for today, you would be experiencing sudden and intense back-and-forth motions of up to 6 ft. per second. The floor or the ground would jerk sideways out from under you. Look around and imagine.”

If this sounds weird, it’s because it is. The Great ShakeOut, as it’s being dubbed, is the biggest public emergency drill in U.S. history - and as such, it is a radical idea. Normally, large-scale disaster drills, which happen weekly across the country, are designed for professional rescuers, emergency managers and politicians. Not for you, and not for me. In fact, the people who matter most in a real-world emergency - the neighbors, office workers and students who do the majority of the lifesaving during big disasters - are almost never invited.

California’s drill, too, originally was scheduled as an exercise for only emergency officials. That exercise, called Golden Guardian, will involve about 5,000 officials, from the local police to the U.S. military, all pretending they are responding to a major quake along the San Andreas Fault.