Firefighters were battling a large and quick-moving brush fire Saturday on a hillside between the northbound Antelope Valley (14) Freeway and Pearblossom Highway (134) in the Acton community south of Palmdale, prompting some evacuation orders.
The Lemon Fire was first reported at 2:11 p.m. Saturday, according to the California Highway Patrol.
A second alarm was requested at 2:44 p.m., according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
About 7:15 p.m., it had grown to 300 acres and was 27% contained by lines of cleared vegetation, LACFD spokesmen Keith Navarre told City News Service.
The blaze grew quickly during the afternoon. At 3:35 p.m., officials reported the fire had consumed about 60 acres and said an evacuation order had been issued for two communities next to the Pearblossom Highway. By 4 p.m., it had consumed 167 acres. By 4:50 p.m., it had grown roughly another two dozen acres.
Air tankers and helicopters from the Angeles National Forest joined in the fight and CALFIRE aircraft reloaded retardant at the forest’s Fox Field. In all, there were more than 177 people working the fire in 81 units and there were eight aircraft dropping water or fire retardant from helicopters and fixed-wing airplanes, Navarre said.
A shelter was set up for evacuees from the rural area at the YMCA, 43001 10th Street West, in Lancaster, he said.
There were no reports of injuries or structures damaged, Navarre said.
Temperatures in Palmdale were in the low 90s on Saturday.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.