A car crash sparked a fire in Santa Clarita that quickly spread to 750 acres Sunday afternoon and triggered mandatory evacuations in some neighborhoods, authorities said. <\/p>\n
At 7 p.m. Sunday the fire was 50% contained, said Cpt. Keith Mora, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Fire Department. <\/p>\n
The blaze broke out about 1 p.m. near the intersection of the 14 Freeway and Placerita Canyon Road when a motorist drove her car into a tree, according to the county fire department. <\/p>\n
The fast-moving fire jumped the freeway, sending up a towering plume of gray smoke that was visible for miles. About 76 homes in the area lost power Sunday afternoon. <\/p>\n
The driver of the crashed vehicle was taken to a hospital with minor injuries, said Joey Marrone, a spokesman with the fire department. <\/p>\n
A firefighter injured in the blaze was also hospitalized, Marrone said. <\/p>\n
At Golden Oak Ranch, an 890-acre filming location constructed by Disney and ABC studios, the fire burned a structure that had been used as a prop house, said L.A. County Sheriff's Department spokesman Christopher Craft. <\/p>\n
U.S. Forest Service firefighters stopped the blaze from burning other structures in the faux business district and suburban street used for filming movies and television. <\/p>\n
Near another flank of the fire, an NBC Los Angeles news van suddenly caught fire while a photographer was outside the vehicle. The photographer was unharmed, and the news station issued a statement saying the fire in the van was unrelated to the Placerita fire. <\/p>\n
The 14 Freeway had been closed on both sides, creating long traffic pileups in both directions. It was reopened by Sunday evening. <\/p>\n
Rudy Montanez, 61, said the gridlock was forcing his family to miss a friends 85th birthday party, complete with mariachi band, in Northridge. <\/p>\n
He, his wife and three hungry grandchildren were stuck for three hours. <\/p>\n
Last year, a brush fire had stranded some family members on a freeway for six hours, Montanez said. <\/p>\n
Its not as scary as last time, said his granddaughter, Cherish. <\/p>\n
Gamal Habib, 63, was caught in the same jam. He made a U-turn on the 14 Freeway and drove in the opposite direction to escape, he said. <\/p>\n
They didnt do a good job of signaling that they had closed an entrance, Habib said. <\/p>\n
Los Angeles County Fire Department <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
(Los Angeles County Fire Department) <\/p>\n
More than 400 firefighters, four helicopter crews and two air tankers were battling the blaze Sunday. <\/p>\n
As the fire spread, The Gentle Barn, an educational nonprofit in Santa Clarita, tweeted a call for neighbors with trucks and trailers to help evacuate horses and other livestock. <\/p>\n
In emergency situations, people often stay in their homes because theyre afraid of what might happen to their animals, said Ellie Laks, the organizations founder. <\/p>\n
By the time the winds had died down and firefighters were beginning to contain the fire, no one had taken the volunteers offer. <\/p>\n
Thats a good fire, Laks said. Hopefully the rest of the fire season will be like that. <\/p>\n
By 7:30 pm, Laks had returned to the organizations six-acre property, where horses cantered as if nothing had happened and a peacock stood atop a gazebo, fanning its turquoise feathers. <\/p>\n
Santa Clarita on Sunday was experiencing dry conditions and temperatures up to 109 degrees, said Todd Hall, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. <\/p>\n
Slightly cooler temperatures and wetter conditions are expected on Monday, Hall said. <\/p>\n
Another fire broke out Sunday afternoon near the intersection of the 170 Freeway and Victory Boulevard in North Hollywood, said Brian Humphrey, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department. <\/p>\n
Its possible that someone in a nearby homeless encampment in the area could have caused the fire, Humphrey said. No structures or people were harmed, but authorities briefly closed a ramp leading to the 170 Freeway. <\/p>\n
This post will be updated with more information as it becomes available. <\/p>\n
frank.shyong@latimes.com<\/a> <\/p>\n joy.resmovits@latimes.com<\/a> <\/p>\n maya.lau@latimes.com<\/a> <\/p>\n UPDATES: <\/p>\n 8:40 p.m.: This story was updated with details about damage at Golden Oak Ranch, a filming location, and more details from the scene. <\/p>\n 6:41 p.m.: This story was updated to reflect new figures about containment and fire acreage. <\/p>\n 5:55 p.m.: This story was updated with new information about the size of the fire, information about a burning news van and more details from the scene. <\/p>\n 4:45 p.m.: This story was updated with new information about weather conditions. <\/p>\n 4:28 p.m.: This story was updated with new information from the scene. <\/p>\n 4:00 p.m.: This story was updated new information from fire officials. <\/p>\n 8:30 pm.: This story was updated with new information from fire officials and from witnesses. <\/p>\n This article was originally posted at 3:25 p.m. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n See the original post here: <\/p>\n Firefighters make progress on fast-moving Santa Clarita blaze; 14 Freeway is reopened - Los Angeles Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A car crash sparked a fire in Santa Clarita that quickly spread to 750 acres Sunday afternoon and triggered mandatory evacuations in some neighborhoods, authorities said. Continue reading