Firefighters worked Thursday to increase containment of the Saddleridge Fire in the northern San Fernando Valley ahead of anticipated winds and a chance of red flag conditions this weekend.
“Crews will take advantage of the conditions … to make progress and bolster containment lines,” the Los Angeles Fire Department said in a statement Wednesday night.
The fire has burned an estimated 8,391 acres, destroyed 19 structures and damaged 88 more since it erupted about 9 p.m. Oct. 10 off the westbound Foothill (210) Freeway near Yarnell Street and Saddle Ridge Road in Sylmar.
It quickly spread due to wind-blown embers that jumped the Golden State (5) Freeway spreading flames into Granada Hills and Porter Ranch. It was 56% contained Thursday morning, according to the LAFD.
Residents who attended a community meeting Wednesday night claimed the city’s reverse 911 system that was supposed to alert residents in the event of an emergency didn’t work when the fire erupted.
The city blamed cell towers that suffered damage in the fire, ABC7 reported. One Granada Hills resident told the station her cousin in Thousand Oaks was the one who sent her the mandatory evacuation message.
The cause of the fire remained undetermined, but the point of origin was identified by LAFD arson investigators as a 50-foot-by-70-foot area beneath a Southern California Edison high-voltage transmission tower near Saddle Ridge Road, officials said.
“There is no evidence of a homeless encampment in the immediate area,” according to the LAFD. “In addition to LAFD personnel, there are investigators from Southern California Edison and private insurance companies at the site. Investigators continue to work around the clock in steep terrain, thoroughly examining all aspects of the scene in an attempt to determine a cause.”
On Monday, Southern California Gas Co. crews alerted firefighters about flames burning in a roughly 4-foot-by-4-foot patch of soil on the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility property in Porter Ranch. Fire officials said the small blaze did not pose any risks to the public or the storage facility.
That fire was extinguished on Tuesday afternoon, according to SoCalGas.
The utility said it believes the fire was from old crude oil activity, but won’t know for certain until the state’s Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources and the Air Quality Management District conducts its own tests, ABC7 reported.
SoCalGas officials stressed there was no damage to any equipment at the storage facility and no sign of any leaks. The small fire did not “pose a risk to public safety and there are no impacts to SoCalGas operations at the facility,” according to the Gas Co.
Videos of what appeared to be fires within the sewer system at the Porter Ranch Town Center alarmed some residents who thought the flames might be connected to the extinguished Aliso Canyon flame. Investigators believe there is no connection and have not witnessed any active underground fire threats in the area, according to the LAFD’s Nicholas Prange.
A Porter Ranch resident, identified by neighbors as 54-year-old Aiman Elsabbagh, died of a heart attack Friday morning while trying to protect his home from the fire. LAFD Chief Ralph Terrazas said the man was speaking to firefighters when he went into cardiac arrest, and he died at a hospital.
Los Angeles Park Ranger Capt. Alberto Torres, 67, suffered a heart attack Friday at Ranger Headquarters at the Griffith Park Visitor Center, at 4730 Crystal Springs Drive and died the next morning at a hospital.
Torres — a ranger for more than 40 years — had been patrolling the parks impacted by the fire.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on Thursday ordered all city flags to lowered to half-staff in honor of Torres.
“Our hearts are with Captain Torres’ family and friends,” Garcetti wrote in a memo calling for the lowered flags. “They are experiencing a loss that no one should have to suffer. Captain Torres’ career was defined by dedication to his department, and our city. He served with the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks for 40 years.”
Eight firefighters suffered minor injuries, including one with an eye injury, fire officials said.