Crews continue fight against 800-acre brush fire in Santa Clarita; 75 percent contained

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For the third straight day, firefighters on Tuesday battled a three-alarm brush fire that scorched about 800 acres and one structure in Santa Clarita.

The fire was about 75 percent contained as of midnight, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

It was started by a traffic crash on the southbound Antelope Valley (14) Freeway near the Sierra Highway off-ramp near Placerita Canyon Road and was reported at 12:47 p.m. Sunday, a Los Angeles County Fire Department dispatcher said. The flames "jumped the freeway,'' according to the dispatcher.

The crash caused a tree to catch fire, and those flames spread toward Disney Ranch, Deputy Juanita Navarro-Suarez said. One structure was destroyed, she said.

Three firefighters suffered minor injuries, one of them heat-related, according to reports from the scene.

As of 10:30 p.m. Sunday, most of the firefighters who made the initial attack were released and replaced by fresh crews to continue the battle into the morning, according to county fire officials.

The blaze caused a power outage at Disney Ranch, cutting electricity to 76 nearby homes, Navarro-Suarez said.

Sally Jeun of Southern California Edison told City News Service the homes lost power at 3:04 p.m. Sunday due to an overhead equipment failure. Power was restored to all the homes by 3:23 p.m., Jeun said.

The blaze also prompted the California Highway Patrol to shut down the Antelope Valley Freeway southbound at San Canyon Road and northward at Newhall Avenue for nearly three hours in the afternoon Sunday.

About 460 firefighters were on scene Monday from various agencies, including the Los Angeles County Fire Department and the U.S. Forest Service.

At times, four water-dropping helicopters and two fixed-winged aircraft were involved in the firefighting effort.

No civilian injuries were reported, but the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department ordered mandatory evacuations for Disney Ranch, Tenderfoot Trail Road, Running Horse Road and Placerita Canyon.

All evacuation orders were lifted at 10 p.m. Sunday and residents were being permitted to return home, county fire announced.

 

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