A second brush fire broke out in the San Fernando Valley on Monday as a small blaze about a mile away threatened 10 homes, prompted evacuations and put firefighters on high alert as winds kicked up during a wind warning.
Firefighters put out a blaze near a reservoir at the Golden State (5) Freeway and Roxford Street in Mission Hills. The fire burned less than 1 acre of grass in a remote area. No homes were threatened.
That blaze was being fought as some 200 firefighters doused a 5-acre blaze in the 12000 block of Highwater Road in Granada Hills at 11 a.m.
Residents were on high alert.
"I followed a fire engine up the hill and I realized it's right across the street from my house," said Chris Serimian.
Officials from several schools in the area sent alerts to parents saying they could pick up their kids.
"In all the years we've been here — 18 years — we've never seen it come this close," said Maria Turley, a teacher at St. Euphrasia who also lives nearby.
The fire broke out on a day that a wind advisory was in effect until 2 p.m. along the Los Angeles County coast, in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys, and in the San Gabriel and Santa Monica Mountains as strong Santa Ana winds buffet the region Monday, creating a threat of wildfires, forecasters said.
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Winds in the area where the fire broke out gusted up to 20 mph.
Brian Humphrey, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department, credited the fact that there were no homes damaged and no injuries to aggressive brush clearance efforts in the neighborhood.
But he urged residents to continue to be vigilant as the combination of gusty Santa Ana winds and low humidity continues to bring elevated fire danger to the region.
"If anyone had any doubt we are certainly in our long, steady march toward the peak of fire season," Humphrey said.
Winds were expected to blow at sustained speeds of between 25 and 35 miles per hour with 55-mph gusts in the San Gabriels, slightly less in the Santa Monicas, 20 and 30 mph with 45-mph gusts in the Santa Clarita Valley, 15 and 25 mph with 40 mph gusts in the San Fernando Valley, and 15 and 25 mph with 35 mph gusts along the coast.
Forecasters say they expected winds of between 25 and 35 mph with 55- mph gusts, and isolated 65-mph gusts are possible along the coastal slopes of the Santa Ana Mountains.
Both fires were quickly extinguished by firefighters and no homes were damaged.
