Sand fire prompts mandatory evacuations in Acton, 34 square miles burned

More than 1,600 firefighters were battling the raging Sand fire Sunday, which has scorched about 34 square miles in the Angeles National Forest and Santa Clarita area, left one man dead and destroyed 18 homes, authorities said.

The wildfire — which began Friday near the northbound 14 Freeway and Sand Canyon Road near Santa Clarita — prompted a mandatory evacuation order Sunday afteoon in the Acton area. The evacuation area stretched from Agua Dulce Canyon Road north to the 14 Freeway, Crown Valley Road north to the 14 Freeway and all of Soledad Canyon Road in between, Los Angeles County Fire Department Engineer Chris Reade said from the command post.

• Photos: Deadly Sand Fire Destroys 18 Homes, Bus 22,000 Acres

At about 5 p.m. Sunday, Los Angeles County fire officials said the fire “jumped Placerita Canyon” about a quarter of a mile west of Sand Canyon moving north.

“If you are still in this area, evacuate now,” a tweet from a spokesman said.

Highland High School in Palmdale — located at 39055 25th Street West — is being used as an evacuation center for these areas, L.A. County Sheriff’s officials said in a tweet Sunday afteoon.

“The fire is buing actively toward the east — toward the Acton area off of Soledad Canyon Road” near campgrounds and RV resorts in the area, said Marc Peebles, a spokesman with the Southe Califoia Incident Management Team 3, a federal inter-agency incident management team on the fire. “It’s very dry. It’s very windy. It’s very smoky. It’s very hazardous conditions.”

The 14 Freeway is closed northbound from the 5 Freeway to Santiago Canyon Road and southbound 14 Freeway from Avenue N to Soledad Canyon in Santa Clarita as a result of the fire, according to Califoia Highway Patrol officials.

A Saturday order for 1,500 homes to evacuate in the Santa Clarita area remained in place Sunday after winds caused the fire to flare up, disrupting early afteoon plans for the order to be lifted, said Los Angeles County Deputy Fire Chief John Tripp, the blaze’s incident commander.

The fire was 10 percent contained as of Sunday. Eighteen homes were destroyed Saturday when the fire raced up the Little Tujunga Canyon area, climbed over Bear Divide and raced down through the Sand Canyon neighborhood, Tripp said. Among them were five housing units for U.S. Forest Service employees, he said.

“That fire came through like a freight train,” Tripp said at a news conference Sunday. “The homes were not defensible.”

More than 100 firefighters had been deployed into the backyards of homes being threatened by the blaze, he said.

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“Just in one day, the fire doubled in size — we have been plaing for this kind of incident all year,” Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl L. Osby said at a news conference Sunday. “There are not normal times so when we say evacuate, evacuate.”

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide detectives were continuing their probe Sunday of a dead man found inside a bued compact sedan parked in a driveway in the 26700 block of Iran Canyon Road in Santa Clarita Saturday night in the area of the fire. The man discovered by firefighters battling the Sand fire and “at this time, there is no indication that the death was a criminal event,” authorities said in a statement.

As of Sunday moing, the blaze was threatening about 1,700 homes in the area, which was well under the 45,000 figure officials feared could be threatened yesterday, fire officials said.

Residents of the Sand Canyon and Placerita Canyon neighborhoods should remain vigilant, officials said.

Since Saturday, mandatory evacuations have been in place for all residents on Sand Canyon Road from Lost Canyon Road to Bear Divide, on Placerita Canyon Road from the Nature Center to Sand Canyon Road and Little Tujunga Canyon Road from Bear Divide to LA River Ranger District station, according to LA County sheriff’s officials. That evacuation area included about 1,500 homes and 100 commercial buildings were threatened.

A new evacuation center had been set up at Hart High School, 24825 N. Newhall, in Santa Clarita to replace the one at Golden Valley High School, which was closed Sunday, authorities said.

“This is a very severe fire — please listen to the Fire Department and Sheriff’s Department,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich said. “We want to save lives, property and animals. That means listen to them when they say evacuate.”

Fire officials were knocking on doors Sunday in the area of the Acton Conservation Camp #11 at 8800 Soledad Canyon Rd. asking people to leave, according to an L.A. County fire official, who was reached at the camp.

Osby said conditions were a bit better for fighting the blaze today.

“Winds have shifted to the southeast and are begiing to push it to the desert,” Osby said earlier Sunday. “We hope we can get some lines on it — that’s our objective for today.”

As of Sunday moing, 1,673 firefighters were battling the flames. They had 122 engines on site, along with 39 hand crews, 15 helicopters and 8 bulldozers. Fixed-wing retardant dropping aircraft were on call, including a big DC-10, said Jay Nichols, a spokesman for the blaze’s unified command said.

“We should have better conditions today because we have clear air and no inversion layer,” which gives better visibility for the aircraft, Nichols said earlier Sunday.

Fire retardant drops are being controlled by an air command helicopter high above the aircraft that are fighting the blaze.

“Crews are continuing with structure defense and the fire remained active last night,” he said.

Nichols said that the fire is chewing through 30-year-old “decadent brush,” meaning it ignites quickly and bus really hot.

A red flag waing will remain in effect until at least 10 p.m. tonight in the fire area, he said.

Winds blew between 10 and 15 miles per hour Sunday moing and may reach 15 to 20 miles per hour with gusts up to 30 miles this afteoon, Tripp said.

The Sand fire was reported at about 2:14 p.m. on Friday near the northbound Highway 14 and Sand Canyon Road. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, authorities said.

Residents were reminded to have a wildfire action plan in place to prepare for such incidents.

“We’re in a 5-year drought,” Peebles said. “All the fuels,” such as brush, grass and timber,” are dry. Temperatures are hot. There are active fires buing throughout the weste U.S. and people need to be ready for wildfire.”