The Post Fire that started in Gorman on Saturday has grown to 15,611 acres with 20% containment as of Monday evening, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
Evacuation orders are still in place for Hungry Valley Park, where 1,200 people were ordered to move, and Pyramid Lake. Castaic and all areas south of Pyramid Lake between Old Ridge Route and the L.A. County line are under an evacuation warning.
One injury was reported, according to Kenishi Haskett, spokesman for the L.A. County Fire Department, who said it was a civilian whose off-road vehicle had broken down on Saturday near Hungry Valley Park. The person was suffering from a leg injury, not caused by the fire but in the proximity of the incident, and was transported to a local hospital and released.
One commercial structure has been destroyed and another 50 homes and 10 commercial properties were listed by the L.A. County Fire Department as being threatened as of Monday morning.
According to the L.A. County Fire Department’s incident update on Sunday, firefighters were working overnight to reinforce the existing perimeter on the fire’s east side, and winds were expected to continue to push the fire south toward Pyramid Lake.
Monday’s work involved reinforcing the containment lines on the north side of the fire along the Interstate 5 corridor, Haskett said. He added that there was also good progress made on the southwestern part of the fire near Pyramid Lake.
Winds were a problem for firefighters throughout the weekend and Monday, Haskett said. Low humidity and high temperatures were also causes for concern, he said.
A red flag warning has been extended by the National Weather Service until 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
Haskett said the winds, along with steep, rugged conditions, were pushing the fire south toward Pyramid Lake. He added that the high winds were making it difficult to make precise water drops with aircraft.
“The water just sprays out everywhere,” he said.
The winds are also causing embers to fly up to a mile from where they originate, Haskett said.
“The probability yesterday and today is over 50% ignition once that happens,” Haskett said.
It will likely be multiple days before the fire is deemed to be 100% contained, according to Haskett, as officials need to be certain that winds will not cause the fire to restart.
This is the first fire in L.A. County to reach more than 10,00 acres in the past two years, according to Haskett.
While Castaic residents are not being told to leave yet, officials are warning that those orders could come.
“We’re urging people to make sure they have brush clearance around those areas,” Haskett said. “If they’re in rural areas, where they’re adjacent to wildfire-prone areas, trim their trees … You need to have a backpack for all your essential items, clothes, overnight clothes, maybe even extra batteries, flashlights, full tank of gas. If law enforcement were to come by, they are the ones who will come by door-to-door and make sure you are evacuated because our No. 1 concern is the safety of people getting out and their life.”
For more information on how to prepare for an evacuation, visit lafd.org/ready-set-go.
The William S. Hart Union High School District announced on its website that all extracurricular and sports activities scheduled to be held at Castaic High School on Monday were canceled.
An air quality alert was issued on Sunday by the South Coast Air Quality Management District due to the high amounts of smoke produced by the blaze.
CalFire’s incident page showed more than 1,100 personnel have responded, including seven helicopters, 114 engines and 34 separate crews. Aircraft were facing challenges fighting the fire from above to halt forward progress due to limited visibility, according to CalFire.
Haskett said the hope is to have everything under control before temperatures creep back up to the 90s this weekend.
The L.A. County Fire Department is taking the lead in responding to the fire, with coordinated help from the Ventura County Fire Department, U.S. Forest Service, L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management, California State Park Services, CalFire, teams from Angeles National Forest and the Los Padres National Forest and the California Highway Patrol.
The cause of the fire is not yet known.
