Destroys homes and lives: California fire triggers massive evacuations and emergency

On Friday, a powerful fire broke out in the northern foothills of the San Fernando Valley, which engulfed in its destructive flame 7500 acres of land. Destroyed at least 31 building, including residential buildings. The flaming element forced the locals to flee without looking back at what they were in.

Photo: video screenshot

Saddleridge Fire broke out around 9 Thursday evening on the north side of the 210 Highway in Silmar. Due to strong gusts of wind, it quickly spread westward to the Porter Ranch and other small towns. During its peak of activity, a blazing element sprawled at a speed of about 800 acres per hour. Firefighters control fire only at 13%, reports LA Times.

Due to this speed of fire spread, a mandatory evacuation was announced, affecting approximately 23 000 houses. Residents of other settlements were asked to be ready for evacuation at any time. It all depends on the direction of the wind.

“The decision to warn the public about evacuation in the early stages is of great importance. It allows firefighters to protect citizens ’property from fire,” said Dave Richardson, deputy chief of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

However, Los Angeles Police Chief Michelle Moore said he saw some homeowners still stay. They themselves resisted the raging fire using a garden hose. Therefore, he urged residents to evacuate by order.

Photo: video screenshot

“These people not only put themselves in immediate danger, but also forced those who gave them first aid to take risks, and these are policemen and firefighters, because we volunteered to help them and want to try to save them,” said Moore.

#SaddleridgeFire Los Angeles County Firefighters working all out! A physical and mental delivery from Camp 12 personnel creating a fuel break in an extreme fire behavior environment. This highlights the challenges of night firefighting @LACOFD @Angeles_NF @LAFD @LASDHQ @LAPDHQ pic.twitter.com/ngQ0sVx90F

- LA County Fire Department (@LACoFDPIO) October 11, 2019

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Governor Gavin Newsome imposed a state of emergency due to a fire. Newsom's statement also applies to fires in Riverside County. The governor’s office announced that he had received a federal grant to compensate for fire fighting costs.

According to officials, one firefighter received a minor eye injury while extinguishing the fire, and a man of 50 years died of a heart attack while talking with firefighters on Friday, October 11. The authorities could not confirm the version that the man, before dying, tried to extinguish the fire from his house.

Fox News writes about two dead.

Photo: Twitter screenshot

More than a thousand firefighters from various departments continued to attack fire from the air and from the ground. While dense smoke wrapped up the San Fernando Valley, motorists tried to go around the freeway. This provoked numerous traffic jams.

Helicopters and amphibious fire aircraft, known as “supercopters,” took to the air to drop water from above. At this time, ground crews, equipped with bulldozers, laid out containment lines, digging ditches on nearby slopes to slow the spread of fire.

An @EricksonInc Air Crane dips into LA Reservoir as it battles the #SaddleridgeFire in City of Los Angeles. @LAFD #PorterRanch #Sylmar #Saddleridge #FirstResponders #WaterIsLife pic.twitter.com/jmr1YLWOBp

- LADWP (@LADWP) October 11, 2019

Although weather conditions have improved, low humidity and northeast winds still pose problems for firefighters. Officials are confident it will take several days to regain full control of the flame.

Meanwhile, the wind continues to drive fire into residential areas on the Porter Ranch and further west, into less populated areas adjacent to the Rocky Peak Park, not far from the Ventura County line, captain Branden Silverman, LAFD spokesman, said.

According to Silverman, Porter Ranch is now a real hot spot.

Photo: video screenshot

At night, the fire spread so quickly that firefighters and the police did not have time to warn residents.

A man stood at Porter Ranch in the dark. He watched the waves of smoldering coals rush toward the two-story house adjoining the hillside on Sheffield Way. Flames erupted behind the building.

“This is my home,” he said. The owner left the building 15 minutes before.

The impulse of gusty flame caught many by surprise.

When her husband went to bed Thursday night at their home in Granada Hills, Patricia Struck turned on the news and learned about the fire. The retired 79-year-old nurse became ill while watching a program from Kalimes — she thought of a family that was 90 miles from endangered homes.

“You understand that your home may disappear in five minutes. It is impossible to watch. Too awful! ”She recalls.

The woman went into the kitchen and put an empty glass in the sink. Then she looked up. Through the window of her kitchen, she saw a glowing red semicircle in the hills.

"Oh my God! - said the woman. “There is a fire in Silmar.”

She hastened to wake her husband, 77-year-old Edward, who uses a wheelchair. She warned that they might have to evacuate. The woman packed their medicines and threw everything they needed into the back of the van, but noticed that the fire seemed a little smaller.

Officials did not come, knock, or shout “Evacuate immediately!” To the speakers, as was the case during past fires in the area. But Patricia continued to watch. Around 11: 30 evenings, when a bright red flame engulfed the hill at 200 meters from their house, she burst into the bedroom.

“Get up!” She said to her husband. - Re going."

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Edward shod and sat in a wheelchair. Outside, ashes rained down on the house in which they had lived for 45 years.

When the couple left, Patricia realized that she had forgotten her husband's most important medicine - an anticoagulant, but it was too late to return. Memoirs connected with their house surged on the woman. She thought about her two grandchildren, now teenagers, and how they had learned to swim in the backyard pool. She remembered the time when they came home after school to do homework or help take care of her tomatoes. All holidays surfaced before her eyes when she made fondant in her kitchen.

Around 8: 30 Friday morning a neighbor called and said that he was able to get closer to their house. He was still shrouded in smoke, but seemed safe, he told her. Patricia has become easier, although she knows that embers can quickly make a difference.

Photo: screenshot video

Sis Merkerson first noticed an orange glow in the living room of her three-story apartment on Porter Ranch near 11: 30 evenings on Thursday. She heard that a fire was raging in the Grand Hills, but she thought that their house was a safe distance.

A woman watched television news, but there was no order to evacuate. Just in case, Merkerson began packing things: medicine, a small safe with important papers, replaceable clothes and a couple of bananas.

On the subject: 10 items required in case of emergency evacuation

Around 2 at night, Merkerson looked out the window and saw a flame. A compulsory evacuation order followed a few minutes later.

“I started knocking on the doors of all my neighbors because I knew that they were sleeping,” the woman said.

“I knocked and knocked. I woke up eight of them. They looked at me like crazy, ”recalls Merkerson.

Photo: video screenshot

44-year-old Mitz Mendoza was already sleeping when she heard a warning about the alarm. The woman was sleepy and did not check her phone. But at about one in the morning she woke up from the smell of smoke in their house on Porter Ranch. Then a second warning followed: “Mandatory evacuation!” She panicked.

“All is well, calm down,” said 51-year-old Roberto Mendoza. “Let's make a plan.”

The couple grabbed their four young children and their English bulldog. Then they packed changeable clothes for children, documents and headed to the garage, which quickly filled with smoke.

Their street was jammed with humming cars - people tried to warn the neighbors who were still sleeping. The family, meanwhile, went to the Granada Hills Recreation Center and spent the whole hectic night there.

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

• The police ordered evacuate people due to forest firethat spreads quickly in the hills of the San Francisco area.
• Wednesday, October 9th, hundreds of thousands of Pacific Gas & Electric customers throughout Northern California felt the consequences of the largest planned power outage in history. Pacific Gas & Electric said the shutdown is necessary to prevent sparks from sparking on its power lines as dangerous dry winds rise.

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