Brush fire burns 400 acres in Angeles National Forest near Agua Dulce
A brush fire burned at least 400 acres of grassy hills in the Angeles National Forest above Agua Dulce on Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.
The #RowherFire is burning west of #AguaDulce in the Angeles National Forest and has grown to 400 acres with potential for 1500 acres. Multiple air tankers and helicopters helping battle it. @CBSLA #ANF #BREAKING pic.twitter.com/GO0dBMwJcs
— John Schreiber (@johnschreiber) July 2, 2020
Fire crews arrived to a four to five-acre blaze, dubbed the Rowher fire, about 3 p.m., burning along open hillsides in the area of Spring Canyon Road and Anthony Road, said John Clearwater, spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service.
Despite inundating the fire with large numbers of firefighters, two air tankers and a helicopter making drops on the flames, the blaze exploded toward 400 acres by 5 p.m.
“The grass on these hillsides are very dry,” Clearwater said. “With a wind behind it, it doesn’t take much to for a spark to get a fire going.”
The Rowher fire burned at a moderate speed while firefighters dealt with weather conditions of 78-degree temperatures and gusts at ridge tops blowing up to 35 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service.
No structures appear to be threatened by the fire, Clearwater said.
Fire crews were able to gain control of the blaze by about 7 p.m., he said. Though overnight, firefighters will closely monitor the direction of the wind, which had been pushing the fire northeast, away from homes in Agua Dulce.
If winds change direction and begin to blow south, the situation would cause concern, Clearwater said.
The fire originated in an area of the National Forest known as Rowher Flats, a popular staging area for off-road vehicles.
The cause of the blaze had not yet been determined.
The Rowher fire came at a time when U.S Forest Service fire crews had already been preparing for a busy July 4th weekend.
With beaches closed during the holiday weekend throughout Southern California due to concerns of the coronavirus pandemic, the Forest Service expects tens of thousands of would-be beach goers to flock toward the mountains, Clearwater said.
He said the 700,000-acre forest would be busy even on a normal July 4th, but crowds would typically leave around 8 p.m. for community firework shows. However, those events are canceled this year, also due to the pandemic. Fire crews worry people will stick around in the mountains for much longer, setting off fireworks in the forest. Fireworks are banned on all federal land.
“It’s kinda shaping up to be a perfect storm,” Clearwater said of the expected surge in crowds, dry weather and a holiday rife with flammable light shows. “It all comes down to what kinda of winds are behind it.”