http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2540742/California-wildfires-rage-control-threaten-neighborhoods-police-question-two-persons-interest.html#ixzz2qcAvstKdCampfire blamed and three men charged over 1,700 ACRE wildfire still burning out of control north of Los Angeles causing thousands to be evacuated Three people have been charged with recklessly starting a fire
Police say they started the fire by throwing paper into a campfire
The wildfire is burning out of control near homes in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains
Police went door-to-door this morning evacuating residents
Up to 2,000 people have been evacuated
The blaze has charred at least 125 acres and being fanned by the Santa Anas wind, which is likely to force it closer to communities
The last fire in the area burned for months and claimed 89 homes and the lives of two firefighters
By Associated Press
PUBLISHED: 12:58 EST, 16 January 2014 | UPDATED: 20:04 EST, 16 January 2014
Authorities say up to 2,000 people have been evacuated due to a wildfire that burned two homes and threatened neighborhoods in dangerously dry foothills of Southern California's San Gabriel Mountains wildfire.
Police say the fire was started by three people throwing paper in a campfire. They were booked on charges of recklessly starting a fire.The suspects were identified as Clifford Eugene Henry, 22, of Glendora; Jonathan Carl Jarrell, 23, of Irwindale; and Steven Robert Aguirre, 21, a Los Angeles transient.
Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby says one resident suffered minor burn injuries in the fire being fanned by gusty Santa Ana winds that spit embers into the city below.
Fire-prone area: In the last serious wildfire in the area, two firemen lost their lives and 89 houses were destroyed
Grand home: A fireman calls for more water as the fire burns a portion of the former Singer home, of sewing machine fame
This locator map shows Glendora, and the fires are raging just to the north
Thick smoke: Rita Abouchedid covers her face from heavy smoke as fire approaches her home on Kregmont Drive in Glendora, California
Destruction: A car and house burn in The Colby Fire above Glendora after nearly 2,000 residents were evacuated and two homes burned in a wildfire that started early Thursday when three people tossed paper into a campfire in the dangerously dry foothills
Dramatic skyline: A large fire plume rises above the downtown skyline from the fast-growing Colby fire in Southern California from the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook Thursday morning
Careless: Authorities say three people have been arrested for starting the fire by throwing paper into a campfire
The three men arrested for starting the fire are Robert Aguirre, Clifford Eugene Henry and Jonathan Carl Jarrell
At least two-and-a-half square miles of dry brush were charred in the wilderness area about 25 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles.
The area, which has been historically dry, has been buffeted by the winds which have raised temperatures into the 80s.
The blaze has charred at least 125 acres above a neighborhood abutting a canyon of Angeles National Forest, just north of the San Gabriel Valley community of Glendora.
Evacuations have been ordered for houses at the edge of the fire, which started about 5:50 a.m.
Three held as campfire started California wildfires
Threatened: Southern California authorities have ordered the evacuation of homes at the edge of a fast-moving wildfire burning in the dangerously dry foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains
Ablaze: A structure burns in the San Gabriel mountain brush-fire in Glendora, California today
Out of control: A resident on the roof of a house talks on the phone as a wildfire burns in the hills just north of the San Gabriel Valley community of Glendora, California
Hazardous: Local schools have canceled classes and residents have been forced to evacuate their homes in the face of the blaze
Too close for comfort: A fast-moving wildfire makes it way up a hill towards a house in the hills just north of the San Gabriel Valley community of Glendora
Aerial view: The fire is raging out of control in the hills north of Los Angeles thanks to three people lighting a campfire
Toll: The fire has claimed one home and injured one person so far
The notorious Santa Anas, linked to the spread of Southern Californians worst wildfires, picked up at daybreak. The extremely dry Santa Anas blow downslope and can push fires out of the mountains and into communities below.
TV news helicopters spotted embers igniting palm trees in residential yards as firefighters with hoses beat back flames lapping at the edges of homes.
Glendora police said officers were going door to door ordering residents to leave. Citrus College, located in the heart of Glendora, canceled classes for the day.
On guard: A Los Angeles County Sheriff blocks a road in a Glendora neighborhood while a wildfire burns in the hills
Dry and windy conditions: The wildfire is being fanned by the Santa Anas as it burns in the hills just north of the San Gabriel Valley community of Glendora, California
Support: Family members comfort each other as they evacuate their home as firefighters battle a wildfire in Azusa, California
Dangerously close: A firefighting helicopter passes over the hills behind homes as a wildfire burns just north of the San Gabriel Valley community of Glendora
The Los Angeles County Fire Department deployed seven engines and three helicopters to the fire, which was reported around 5:50 a.m. (PST) and was growing rapidly. Officials added to the firefighting aircraft with a water-dropping Super Scooper plane.
The fire erupted abruptly, said Jonathan Lambert, general manager of Classic Coffee in Glendora.
'All of a sudden a customer came in, "Have you seen the fire?" "No, we haven't." We went outside and it's been moving incredibly quickly down that hill,' Lambert told KNBC-TV.
The last catastrophic fire in the San Gabriel Mountains broke out in 2009 and burned for months. The flames blackened 250 square miles, killed two firefighters and destroyed 209 structures, including 89 homes.
California is in a historically dry era and winter has brought no relief.
Anxious: Residents watch the progress of the San Gabriel mountain wildfire which has charred at least 125 acres by the Angeles National Forest
Fighting fire: Commuters make their way along the 210 freeway as firefighters battle a wildfire in the hills just north of the San Gabriel Valley community of Glendora
Desperate battle: A homeowner attempts to water down a tree which could easily spark and burn on his property while a wildfire burns in the hills
Serious measures: A firefighting helicopter makes a water drop over homes threatened by the out-of-control wildfire
Prevention: Mark Davis (center) and Fred Lambertson carry a water hose to spray water around Davis' property
Red flag warnings for critical fire weather conditions were posted from Santa Barbara County south through Los Angeles to the U.S.-Mexico border, along the spine of the Sierra Nevada, and in areas east and north of San Francisco Bay.
Fires that struck windy areas of the state earlier in the week were quickly quashed by large deployments of firefighters, aircraft and other equipment before the flames could be stoked by gusts into major conflagrations.
Rapidly spreading: The fire in the dangerously dry foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains is fanned by gusty Santa Ana winds that spit embers into neighborhoods in the city below, igniting trees
Under threat: A helicopter drops water on a fire burning near homes on Thursday in Azusa, California
Large parts of Southern California below mountain passes, canyons and foothills have been buffeted all week by the region's notorious Santa Ana winds.
Spawned by surface high pressure over the interior of the West, the Santa Anas form as the cold air flows toward Southern California, then speeds up and warms as it descends in a rush toward the coast. Some of the most extreme gusts reported by the National Weather Service topped 70 mph.
These offshore winds also raise temperatures to summerlike levels. Many areas have enjoyed temperatures well into the 80s.
California is also under the influence of a persistent upper-level ridge of high pressure anchored off its north coast that has also kept the region generally warm, dry and clear.
