WORLD> America
LA wildfire threatens 12,000 homes; 2 dead
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-08-31 22:26

LA wildfire threatens 12,000 homes; 2 dead
Los Angeles County firefighters watch as the Station fire burns in the Acton area of Los Angeles, California August 30, 2009. [Agencies]
LA wildfire threatens 12,000 homes; 2 dead

LOS ANGELES: Firefighters tried Monday to hold back a massive wildfire from consuming thousands of Los Angeles-area homes and a crucial communications center as they mourned two firefighters killed when their vehicle rolled down a mountain.

About 12,000 homes, as well as communications and astronomy centers atop Mount Wilson, were threatened by fire. At least 6,600 homes were under mandatory evacuation orders Sunday night and over 2,500 firefighters were battling the flames. On the blaze's northwestern front, two firefighters were killed Sunday on Mount Gleason near the city of Acton.

Related readings:
LA wildfire threatens 12,000 homes; 2 dead Evacuations grow as Los Angeles fire rages
LA wildfire threatens 12,000 homes; 2 dead 2 firefighters killed in crash amid SoCal wildfire
LA wildfire threatens 12,000 homes; 2 dead Calif. wildfire heads north, threatens thousands
LA wildfire threatens 12,000 homes; 2 dead US wildfire surges in size, threatens thousands
LA wildfire threatens 12,000 homes; 2 dead Wildfire threatens Los Angeles
"We ask for your understanding, for your patience as we move through this difficult time, and please, prayers for the families of our two brothers that we lost," county Deputy Fire Chief Mike Bryant said through tears at a Sunday press conference.

Fire Capt. Tedmund Hall, 47, of San Bernardino County, and firefighter Specialist Arnaldo "Arnie" Quinones, 35, of Palmdale, were killed in the crash, the department said in a statement. Authorities did not give a cause for the crash.

Hall was a 26-year veteran, and Quinones had been a county firefighter for eight years.

"Our hearts are heavy as we are tragically reminded of the sacrifices our firefighters and their families make daily to keep us safe," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a statement.

The blaze was only about 5 percent contained late Sunday and had scorched 71 square miles in the Angeles National Forest. Mandatory evacuations were in effect for neighborhoods in Glendale, Pasadena and other smoke-choked cities and towns north of Los Angeles. At least 18 homes were destroyed in the fire and firefighters expected to find many more, authorities said.

"Our neighbors sent us photos of all the other houses that are lost," said Beth Halaas, who lost her house in Big Tujunga Canyon, one of the many communities under mandatory evacuation. "We've heard as many as 30 houses burned."

On Mount Wilson, crews cleared brush and sprayed retardant in an attempt to ward off flames approaching the transmitters of more than 20 television stations, many radio stations and cell phone providers, said US Forest Service Capt. Mike Dietrich.

Television stations said if the antennas burn, broadcast signals would be affected but satellite and cable transmissions would not be.

Two giant telescopes and several multimillion-dollar university programs are housed in the century-old Mount Wilson Observatory. The complex of buildings is both a historic landmark and a thriving modern center for astronomy.

   Previous page 1 2 3 Next Page