Firefighters in a mountainous area north of Los Angeles are making good progress in their battle against a brush fire that forced thousands of people to evacuate. The Ventura County Fire Department says the Canyon Fire ignited Thursday afternoon and spread rapidly in dry, steep terrain in Ventura and Los Angeles counties to more than 7.6 square miles with no containment by 11 p.m. A county spokesperson says no further growth was reported Friday morning, though the fire remained uncontained. The fire is burning just south of Lake Piru, a reservoir located in the Los Padres National Forest. It's close by Lake Castaic, a popular recreation area burned by the Hughes Fire in January.
Rising temperatures pose new challenges for firefighters who have made incremental progress against a massive wildfire in central California that has injured four people as it has become the biggest blaze in the state so far this year. More than 870 remote homes and other structures at the northern edge of Los Padres National Forest are threatened by the Gifford Fire, which grew only slightly overnight after burning out of control for days. The fire has scorched at least 131 square miles of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, with just 9% containment on Wednesday.
More than 800 structures are being threatened by a massive wildfire burning through Los Padres National Forest in central California. Officials say the Gifford Fire spans more than 129 square miles of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties with 7% containment. More than 1,900 personnel are battling the blaze that grew out of several smaller fires that erupted Friday along State Route 166 between Santa Maria and Bakersfield. Three people have been injured, including a motorist with burn injuries who was overrun by flames.
