Evacuations in place, some roads closed as firefighters battle 3,000-acre Charlie fire near Castaic and Santa Clarita
Hundreds of firefighters battled a third-alarm brush fire in the Castaic and Santa Clarita area Saturday evening that had grown to more than 3,000 acres, causing some road closures and evacuations, authorities said.
By 7 p.m., the fire was 10 percent contained and about 20 homes along a stretch of San Francisquito Canyon Road had been evacuated as a precaution, officials said on Twitter. No structures were damaged as of early evening.
#LASD Assisting our @LACOFD in redirecting traffic on Lake Hughes Rd. 20-50 home evacuated near Camp 14 on San Francisquito Cyn. No structures threatened or damaged at this time. pic.twitter.com/ewiCqFpNl2
— LA County Sheriff’s (@LASDHQ) September 23, 2018
An evacuation center was set up at the Castaic Sports Complex at 31230 Castaic Road.
The fire was burning east of the 5 freeway. Evacuations were mandatory along San Francisquito Canyon Road from Fire Camp No. 14 to the north and Lowridge Place to the south, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.
Portions of Lake Hughes Road in the Castaic Lake area were closed, officials said. San Francisquito Canyon Road was also closed, Santa Clarita officials said.
Drivers were advised to find alternate routes.
We are being advised that evacuations are going into effect for San Francisquito from Tapia to Dry Gulch.
— Santa Clarita City (@santaclarita) September 22, 2018
#CharlieFire EVACS AND CLOSURES: San Francisquito Canyon is now CLOSED and evacuations are in place from Lowridge all the way up to Camp 14.
— Santa Clarita City (@santaclarita) September 23, 2018
Dubbed the Charlie fire, the flames broke out about 2:40 p.m. in the 3100 block of Charlie Canyon, said Inspector Joey Marron of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
“Initially the size was three acres at the top of a ridge in light fuels,” he said.
The fire grew so quickly because firefighters had difficulty accessing the the area, Marron said. Some 500 personnel were battling the blaze by the evening, the Angeles National Forest said.
Information on how the fire started wasn’t immediately available.
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A nearby paintball park was evacuated as a precaution, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Santa Clarita Valley station.
Today, #CharlieFire started and is currently burning in the area of Castaic by Charlie Canyon and Tapia Canyon. Only brush at this time but the paintball park in the area was evacuated as a precaution. Fire is currently handling and we will update you as we can. #LAFD #LASD pic.twitter.com/IgEGwrsD43
— SCV Sheriff (@SCVSHERIFF) September 22, 2018
The Pitchess Detention Center was not affected by the fire, but sheriff’s officials said they were monitoring it.