chino hills fire

Authorities focused overnight on flames rapidly pushing northwest through Chino Hills State Park, where they posed a threat to neighborhoods in Carbon Canyon and Chino Hills. Officials ordered evacuations in the area.

It was a day of record heat and low humidity throughout the region, with a high of 93in downtown Los Angeles. A wind advisory remained in effect for portions of the region through this morning.


Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles and Orange and Riverside counties. Fire officials estimated that at its peak 10,000 people were under orders to evacuate, including residents of the mobile home park.

Extreme fire conditions were expected to continue into Sunday morning, with humidity at just 10 percent to 15 percent and winds gusting to 45 mph through canyons. Winds, however, could reverse direction and dip to 5-mph breezes Sunday afternoon.

"We still have another 15 hours of red flag conditions," Robert Balfour, a senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Diego, warned fire officials at a briefing Saturday night.

Many heat records were set as the region withered under the Santa Anas. Downtown Los Angeles was 20 degrees above normal at a record 93 degrees.

At an evacuation center, Lucretia Romero, 65, wore a string of pearls and clutched the purse and jacket she snatched as firefighters shouted at them to flee hours earlier.

Her daughter, Lisa, 42, wore a bloodstained shirt and pants. A helicopter dropping water on their home caused the entryway ceiling to collapse. Debris scratched her forehead and gave her a black eye.

Lucretia Romero said she saw smoke above the hills beyond the front door and then, within an hour, saw that a canyon across from her home was red with flame.

"They would drop water, the water would squash the flames and then two minutes later the flames would come back," she said. Firefighters soon banged on the door and gave them 10 minutes to evacuate.

Flames swept across the park and scorched cypress trees, Ruda said. Firefighters had to flee, grabbing some residents and leaving hoses melted into the concrete.

Ruda produced a burned U.S. flag on a broken stick as a sign of hope and bravery for firefighters. "The home that this flag was flying from is gone," he said.

Police Chief William Bratton said cars were found in the debris at the park, raising concerns that bodies might be found. Crews were waiting for the ground to cool before bringing in search dogs, he said.

The Santa Anas — dry winds that typically blow through Southern California between October and February — tossed embers ahead of flames, jumping two interstate highways and sparking new flare-ups. Walls of flame raced up ridge lines covered in sun-baked brush and surrounded high-power transmission line towers.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said the fire caused problems that shut down power lines in places, and he asked residents to conserve power to help avoid possible blackouts.

Shortly after midnight, the Sylmar fire burned to the edge of the Olive View-UCLA Medical Center campus, knocking out power and forcing officials to evacuate two dozen critical patients.



The shifting winds caused the fire to move uphill toward the San Gabriel Mountains, downhill toward homes and sometimes skip across canyons. It also jumped across Interstates 5 and 210, forcing the California Highway Patrol to shut down portions of both freeways and some connecting roads.

More than 60 homes were damaged or destroyed in a fire that erupted in the Riverside County city of Corona and spread west to the Orange County communities of Yorba Linda and Anaheim Hills.

In addition, 50 apartment units burned in a complex in Anaheim Hills. Devin Nathanson, 27, had put down a deposit on an apartment there and planned to move in Saturday. Instead, he watched from the road as it burned to the ground.

"At least none of my stuff was inside yet," he said.

Palm trees lining the entrance to the complex were ablaze, and two firefighters manned hoses at the swimming pool and sprayed water on the leasing center. The roof caved in with a loud bang.

About 2,000 acres — more than 3 square miles — were charred by that fire, with more than 12,000 people in 4,500 dwellings ordered to evacuate in Anaheim alone. Six firefighters were injured, including four Corona firefighters who were hurt when flames swept over their engine. Two of the Corona crewmembers were treated at a hospital and released.

Winds began to decrease in the afternoon and were expected to drop further overnight, but humidity was expected to remain low.

The night before, northwest of Los Angeles, more than 180 homes burned to the ground Thursday in Santa Barbara and the wealthy, star-studded community of Montecito, said William Boyer, spokesman for the city of Santa Barbara. The total could reach 200, he said.

At least half of the area's 5,400 evacuees had been allowed to return home by Saturday night, he said. The fire was 40 percent contained, city spokesman Browning Allen said.

Several multimillion-dollar homes and a small Christian college were damaged in Montecito, a town of 14,000 that has attracted celebrities such as Rob Lowe, Jeff Bridges, Michael Douglas and Oprah Winfrey.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. At least 13 people were injured.