Fire fighters battle through the night | Photo: L.A. County Fire Dept.
The Powerhouse Fire spread to 29,584 acres overnight and 130 sheriff deputies enforced new evacuation orders as the wildfire encroached on the Antelope Acres community in Lancaster on the north and Green Valley on the southeast.
The fire, which started Thursday afternoon on a hillside above the LADWP’s Power House 1 in San Francisquito Canyon, 11.5 miles north of Copper Hill Road in Santa Clarita, was 40-percent contained as of Monday morning.
More than 2,000 fire fighters from multiple agencies are battling the fire, which has consumed six homes in Lake Hughes, mostly on the south side of Newview Road.
According to CAL FIRE, three firefighters had sustained minor injuries as of Sunday.
Thursday’s presumed flash point: A hillside (right) above Power House 1 (roof visible at left) – as seen Sunday. (SCVNews.com)
The historic Rock Inn in Lake Hughes was still standing as of Sunday afternoon, as was the Community Center and HELUS (Hughes-Elizabeth Lakes Union School District) school. In fact, as of Sunday afternoon, no structure on either side of Elizabeth Lake Road had burned down – although flames were threatening the north side of the road during late afternoon hours.
Flames taunted The Painted Turtle, and while the grounds are a disaster zone, the buildings survived. Personnel from the camp for kids with medical ailments said a barn was lost.
Large animals were evacuated to the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds – although some horses were running loose as the flames spread. Small animals joined their owners at a Red Cross shelter at Marie Kerr Park Recreation Center in Palmdale. A second Red Cross shelter was set up at Palmdale High School.
Site of a home that burned down Saturday night on Newview Road in Lake Hughes.
The National Weather Service reported Sunday morning that a high, thin layer of smoke from the Powerhouse Fire was moving across the Las Vegas Valley.
The fire spread fast.
“(The) fire was able to come into alignment with slope, winds, low relative humidity and critically dry fuels, making extreme head runs on all open divisions with long-range spotting and very active backing and flanking fire,” the U.S. Forest Service reported. The fire “spotted and became well developed north of Lake Hughes Road.”
LACoFD perimeter map, Monday 5 a.m.
Fire Spreads to 30,000 Acres, Takes 6 Homes
