A fire burning in Los Angeles County grew more than six-fold overnight, threatening more than 10,000 homes and the Mount Wilson observatory as firefighters battle wind gusts and continued high temperatures, officials said.
The Station fire, which has now consumed 35,200 acres (14,245 hectares) since it began four days ago in the Angeles National Forest, spread rapidly with flames as long as 80 feet (24 meters), the U.S. Forest Service said on its Web site. The fire had charred 5,500 acres as of yesterday morning.
The fire is now threatening the city of Acton, California, and local homes are being evacuated, said Jennifer Sanchez, a spokeswoman for the Angeles National Forest.
"The temperatures are still high and the winds are pushing the fire to the north," Sanchez said in a phone interview. The fire is still only 5 percent contained, and may be finally under control on Sept. 8, the forest service said on its Web site.
Firefighters likely aren't going to receive much help today with temperatures expected to remain in the mid-90 degree Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius) range as a high-pressure system slowly weakens during the next several days, said Heather Buchman, a meteorologist with AccuWeather.com in State College, Pennsylvania. The high pressure is preventing cooler, moist air from the ocean from flowing onshore, keeping humidity levels low, she said.
As of yesterday, California had more than 5,200 firefighters battling eight major blazes across the state that burned more than 21,000 acres, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.