Update: The Saddleridge Fire has burned at least 31 homes and other structures. Mandatory evacuations have been issued overnight to roughly 23,000 homes, and officials warn that other communities near the fire should be ready to leave at a moment’s notice.
Conversely, Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said he’s seen homeowners stay behind to battle raging flames on their property with garden hoses. He urged residents to evacuate when ordered.
Helicopters and amphibious firefighting aircraft known as “super scoopers” soared through the air dropping water, while ground crews manned bulldozers cutting containment lines into nearby hillsides in an effort to slow the fire’s spread. At least one air tanker blanketed fire retardant across the ridges between Granada Hills and Porter Ranch.
“It was good timing,” he mused. After all, it was that fire break that stood between his home and the flames dancing up the hillside. Though conditions appeared to be improving, low humidity and northeasterly winds gusting up to 50 mph — expected to linger until the evening — still pose a challenge for firefighters. Officials say they expect it will take days to get the blaze completely under control.The wind continues to push the fire into residential neighborhoods in Porter Ranch and farther west to less-populated areas approaching Rocky Peak Park near the Ventura County line, said Capt. Branden Silverman, an LAFD spokesman.
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