A “warming fire” set by homeless people in the Santa Clara River at the Saugus-Valencia border grew to a small brush fire Monday afternoon.
Shortly after 3 p.m., firefighters with the Los Angeles County Fire Department responded to reports of a tree fire in the river west of Bouquet Canyon Road behind the Lowe’s Home Improvement hardware store.
“This was a warming fire set, we believe, by some homeless people,” one fire official told The Signal. “They brought in some pretty big logs and it (fire) got away from them.”
Two fire engines, a camp crew and a water tender were dispatched at 3:08 p.m., Supervising Fire Dispatcher Cheryl Sims said. Some of the firefighting crews were drawn deep into the riverbed.
The fire, which grew to about 10 feet in diameter, was fully extinguished by 4:12 p.m.
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