Firefighters stopped forward progress of a fast-moving, 170-acre brush fire near Castaic Lake on Saturday, according to fire officials.
Crews in the first alarm responded to reports of a fire near the boat launch on the 32000 block of Castaic Lake Drive around 4:04 p.m., according to Andrew Mitchell, spokesman for the Angeles National Forest. Los Angeles County Fire Department personnel also responded to the scene.
Firefighters respond to the Castaic Fire on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020. Dan Watson/ The Signal Firefighters respond to the Castaic Fire on Saturday, August 1, 2020. Dan Watson/The Signal
Dubbed the Castaic Fire, the blaze was held at 170 acres with 0% containment by 7 p.m., said Mitchell.
“A rapid and aggressive attack by the Forest Service and Los Angeles County Fire have stopped the forward rate of spread holding the fire at approximately 170 acres,” Incident Commander Oscar Vargas said in a statement.
The blaze had reached 1 acre by around 4:20 p.m., and was running uphill in medium to heavy fuel in an old burn area from years back, according to firefighters on the scene. By 5:40 p.m., it grew to 160 acres with 0% containment, prompting the closure of the lake and Templin Highway from Ridge Route East. No structures were reported threatened.
“We sent a full first alarm brush response,” said Mitchell as the fire had first started spreading. “Usually, we send five engines but now with high temperatures, we send seven. We also send out patrols, a tanker copters and dozers.”
Crews are expected to remain on the scene overnight to build containment line and search for hotspots, according to Angeles National Forest officials.
This is a breaking news story and additional information will be released as soon as it becomes available.
