Palmdale Fire Forces 2,000 Homes to Evacuate

A wind-driven wildfire has burned more than 12.5-square miles of dry brush near Palmdale in northern Los Angeles County, damaging a few structures and forcing people from approximately 2,000 homes to evacuate.
Palmdale Fire Forces 2,000 Homes to Evacuate
A fire continues to burn July 30, 2010 in the hills above Palmdale, California. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
7/30/2010
Updated:
10/1/2015
<a><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/103171664.jpg" alt="A fire continues to burn July 30, 2010 in the hills above Palmdale, California. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)" title="A fire continues to burn July 30, 2010 in the hills above Palmdale, California. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-1816792"/></a>
A fire continues to burn July 30, 2010 in the hills above Palmdale, California. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
A wind-driven wildfire has burned more than 12.5-square miles of dry brush near Palmdale in northern Los Angeles County, damaging a few structures and forcing people from approximately 2,000 homes to evacuate.

A single-family home and three mobile home residences were completely burned. Another house had its roof and a few other outer parts damaged, authorities told the Associated Press.

After sunrise on Friday, about 500 firefighters launched an aerial assault on the blaze to prevent the fire from heading into densely populated areas in Leona Valley, which could potentially threaten 1,500 homes.

Most of the displaced residents were able to head back to their homes by early Friday.

Officials said that residents should expect another day of high heat and afternoon winds, which could hamper containment efforts near the dense suburbs of Palmdale.

The firefighters will concentrate on protecting homes and power lines that carry electricity to much of Southern California, Los Angeles County Deputy Fire Chief Michael Bryant told AP.

Bryant said that an investigation into the fire’s origin centers on a vacant lot, where workers were hammering on bolts to extract nails from tire rims. He added that authorities suspect no foul play involved in starting the blaze.