Bazaar
Evacuation Orders Lifted After Old Fire in Los Angeles County, California, Contained at 80 Percent | The Weather Channel

Evacuation Orders Lifted After Old Fire in Los Angeles County, California, Contained at 80 Percent

Firefighters gained the upper hand fighting a brush fire blazing through Los Angeles County, California, Sunday, prompting officials to lift evacuations. 

Orders for the city of Calabasas were lifted around 6 p.m. after the Los Angeles County Fire Department Public Information Center reported the Old Fire blaze was 80 percent contained. 

"Temperatures are beginning to cool as evening sets in over southern California," weather.com digital meteorologist Brian Donegan said. "Along with the falling temperatures as the sun gets lower in the sky, the winds are also diminishing as we lose the mixing in the atmosphere. Winds will be less than 5 mph overnight, which will help the firefighters keep the fire under control."

(FORECAST: Dangerous, Extreme Heat Envelops Much of the West Through Early Week)

Firefighters took advantage of the cooler temperatures and calmer winds Sunday, with aircraft making water drops along the eastern and southern edges of the blaze, Los Angeles County Deputy Fire Chief John Tripp told the Associated Press. 

He said it was "our number one priority to get those two flanks contained," adding that the fire was hung up on the mid-slope of steep canyons, making a direct attack difficult.

Advertisement

At the height of the fire, some 3,000 homes were threatened, and about 5,000 residents were evacuated. The fire was reportedly sparked by a car crash that downed power lines.

(MORE: Heavy Rain, Flooding Inundate Parts of Australia)

Three homes were damaged, but the extent of the damage wasn't clear, Los Angeles County fire Capt. Keith Mora told AP. Other buildings, including some at a city park, also sustained damages.

Some horse owners in the area put the animals in trailers and hauled them away. Authorities set up an evacuation center for people with large animals at Pierce College in Woodland Hills.

Three firefighters received minor injuries while fighting the blaze. 

To the southeast, a smoky wildfire burning in Riverside County was 65 percent contained Sunday evening. The blaze that broke out a day earlier along Interstate 15 in Temecula charred about 130 acres of dry brush. No structures were threatened.

Firefighters approach a brush in the foothills outside of Calabasas, California, on June 4, 2016. The fast-moving brush fire swept through hills northwest of downtown Los Angeles, damaging homes and prompting neighborhood evacuations.
1/6
Firefighters approach a brush in the foothills outside of Calabasas, California, on June 4, 2016. The fast-moving brush fire swept through hills northwest of downtown Los Angeles, damaging homes and prompting neighborhood evacuations.
Advertisement