Fire danger have continued to be elevated in Southern California due to warm and dry weather.
Brush fires erupted in and around the San Gabriel Mountains this weekend, first in Wrightwood and then in Duarte, as the Southland had unusually warm weather, according to fire officials.
According to Angeles National Forest officials, the blaze in Wrightwood, which started on Saturday, exploded from 45 to 775 acres between 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. Sunday. Officials said there was a mandatory evacuation order in place for Desert Front Road and Wild Horse Canyon in Wrightwood, as well as an evacuation alert for the rest of the town.
The fire in Duarte was reported around 4:15 p.m. Sunday at Brookridge and Mel Canyon roads and had grown to 10 to 20 acres by 5 p.m., Around 7 p.m., the fire had stabilised and was moving away from the structures. At the time, there had been no injuries and no homes were in danger, according to Los Angeles County Fire Department officials.
Kristen Stewart, an Oxnard-based National Weather Service meteorologist in California says Monday is expected to be much cooler, though gusty northerly winds are expected to pick up in the evening. However, the heat wave is expected to return Tuesday and peak midweek, with highs in the 90s and 100s in the San Fernando Valley on Wednesday and Thursday.
