The Post Fire that originated in Gorman on Saturday has increased slightly to 15,690 acres as of Tuesday evening with 31% containment and Castaic is no longer under an evacuation warning, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
One commercial structure has been destroyed as a result of the fire, while 50 homes and 10 commercial properties are threatened, according to the Fire Department’s Tuesday morning incident update.
“Firefighters worked overnight to limit additional growth of the Post Fire burning south of Gorman, CA, near Hungry Valley State Park,” the update stated. “Control lines were tested with wind gusts of up to 40 MPH, and poor relative humidity recovery.”
Castaic is no longer under an evacuation warning, though all areas south of Pyramid Lake between Old Ridge Route and the L.A. County line are. Hungry Valley Park and Pyramid Lake were both evacuated.
For updated evacuation information, visit protect.genasys.com.
Some roads had been fully closed, according to a post on X by the Fire Department. Those include the northbound Interstate 5 at Templin Highway as well as the southbound side of Vista Del Lago Road at the entrance to the Vista Del Lago Visitor’s Center. The eastbound side of Castaic Lake Drive at Ridge Route Road is under a soft closure.
Firefighters have begun moving out of defense mode and into attack mode as of Tuesday afternoon, according to Kenishi Haskett, spokesman for the Fire Department. That will likely occur across the area of the fire so long as conditions do not worsen, he said.
Among the challenges facing firefighters on Tuesday, according to Haskett, are the windy conditions. Red flag conditions were expected until 6 p.m. on Tuesday, with winds from the northeast peaking up to 40 mph and drier conditions leading to a possible increase in spot fires up to three-quarters of a mile from existing fire lines. Low humidity at 8% is also a factor, he added.
Those conditions are pushing the fire into the wilderness area along its western border.
“Crews will continue to mop up and patrol controlled fire line along the northern-most portion of the fire, extinguishing hot spots and strengthening control features,” the update stated. “Steep, rugged terrain and expected weather conditions will challenge firefighters throughout the day.”
Smoke conditions have improved, though increased fire behavior could lead to further impacts on Interstate 5 south of Gorman, including communities in and around Santa Clarita.
Despite progress being made, Haskett said there are still concerns with temperatures expected to be in the 90s as the week moves along and going into the weekend.
“We don’t want people to get complacent just because we don’t see or smell smoke,” he said, adding that signs were pointing to more of the fire being contained throughout Tuesday evening and going into Wednesday.
The Fire Department has not received any reports of missing people and only one injury has been reported. According to Haskett, that injury occurred on Saturday, with first responders reporting that it was a man who suffered a leg injury and was not directly a result of the fire, but occurred in its proximity at Hungry Valley Park.
Nearly 1,700 personnel have responded to the fire, as well as 24 helicopters, 26 water tenders, 13 bulldozers and 151 engines.
Haskett is hopeful that people will use this as an example of the need to clear brush, especially for homes near wilderness areas.
The cause of the fire is not yet known.
