As brush fires burned more than 1,000 acres immediately surrounding the city of Santa Clarita, the evacuation orders for land just north of the Newhall Pass remained in place as a precaution Thursday morning.
Access to the Angeles National Forest, which borders Santa Clarita on both the north and the south, was closed until midnight Wednesday, due to the Hurst and Eaton fires burning south and east of the city in the ANF and San Gabriel Mountains National Monument.
After three days of windstorms left thousands without power, battered homes and brought fires that torched its greenbelt, Santa Clarita, which has had a long history of dealing with wildfires, managed to avoid significant burn scars within its borders.
The Hurst Fire evacuation orders were downgraded to warnings late Thursday afternoon.
Santa Clarita Mayor Bill Miranda took stock Thursday, expressing concern for those impacted and gratitude for first responders and the city’s fate so far.
“I think, considering what’s happening throughout L.A. County, I think we’re blessed right now, and hopefully we stay that way,” Miranda said in a phone interview Thursday morning.
“The winds are down, which is important,” he said, adding that he had just met with SCV Sheriff’s Station Capt. Justin Diez. “And we’re prepared. You know, this is not the first time for us. We’ve had devastation before. We’ve had experience. We’re prepared, but you’re never prepared enough.”
Lessening concern
There were two wildfires near Santa Clarita’s borders throughout Wednesday, which were still threatening structures Thursday, according to fire officials.
The Lidia Fire, which broke out shortly after 1 p.m. Wednesday near Crown Valley and Soledad Canyon roads in Acton, east of city limits, had burned 348 acres as of Thursday afternoon, according to Saadullah Sheikh, spokesman for the L.A. County Fire Department’s media information line. The containment was listed at 40%, he said, which was a significant improvement and growing.
He said there were no injuries reported, and he did not have any updated information regarding how many residential or commercial structures were lost or in danger from the fire.
Officer Carlos Burgos-Lopez of the Newhall Area Office of the California Highway Patrol said that, as of Thursday afternoon, road closures remained in place on Soledad Canyon Road between Agua Dulce Canyon and Crown Valley roads.
The Hurst Fire, which broke out southeast of the Newhall Pass in Sylmar around 10:28 p.m. Tuesday, had burned 855 acres as of Thursday afternoon. It also reported its first containment percentage at 10%, indicating that firefighters were starting to get a handle on the incident.
The evacuation-order watch for parts of Newhall remained Thursday, but the “unified command” of Angeles National Forest, CalFire, L.A. city and county firefighters battling the incidents didn’t have nearly as much trouble with winds Thursday.
Late Wednesday night, the Divide Fire also drew a large response from Angeles National Forest Service firefighters.
First responders managed to surround the half-acre incident with water before it could reach nearby homes and structures, according to Celeste Morales, public information officer for the Angeles National Forest.
Ariel Cohen, meteorologist in charge for the regional National Weather Service office in Oxnard, said the forecast through Friday still called for gusts up to 40-50 mph.
By Thursday, the winds were about half the intensity they were Monday and Tuesday night, but still very capable of contributing to fire behavior, Cohen said. As a result, the Red Flag Warning is expected to remain in place until Friday. The forecast calls for the winds to linger through the weekend.
“On Monday into Tuesday, there’s going to be about a 40 to 50% chance of a moderate to strong Santa Ana Wind event,” Cohen added, “so keep tuned.”
Power outages
Stevenson Ranch resident Bob Buttitta was one of the tens of thousands of Southern California Edison customers without power at the start of Thursday, although he did say it was restored by late morning.
His home was one of the lucky ones.
Gabriela Ornelas, spokeswoman for the utility, said more than 34,000 customers countywide remained without power as of about 4 p.m. Thursday, although she declined to provide any numbers specific to the Santa Clarita Valley.
Officials have consistently referred all queries to the utility’s online map and declined to answer questions, indicating more specific information regarding outages and restoration was not available.
During a press conference 8 a.m. Thursday, SCE officials said power to most would be restored over the next 24 to 48 hours as conditions improve, adding that equipment failures and shortages in some areas could delay that even longer.
For Buttitta, who also spent a significant amount of time on the phone with SCE trying to get answers, the difficulty in getting clear information about his home’s power was the most frustrating part, he said.
When he asked about why some of the homes in his neighborhood had power while others in a neighboring home tract didn’t, he was given conflicting stories about how the conditions dictated which homes would be impacted, he said.
“You know, give a straight answer as to why you’re doing this,” Buttitta said, adding that he understands the need for safety and prevention. “OK, if you’re gonna do that, you should have a plan.”
Much of the SCV remained under an outage alert or in an area potentially designated for one as of Thursday evening.
Additional resources
In addition to conversations with the SCV’s top cop, Miranda mentioned talks he’s had with Rep. George Whitesides, D-Agua Dulce, Sen. Suzette Martinez-Valladares, R-Santa Clarita, Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo, D-Chatsworth, and even a message from the White House over the past 48 hours.
“I got an email from the White House saying whatever resources we need to give them a call,” Miranda said.
“Congressman George Whitesides got a hold of me and offered assistance, should we need it, to our city,” Miranda said, also mentioning his conversation with state officials.
“So, we’re connected, we’re communicating. We’re hoping and praying for the best, but we’re also preparing for the worst,” he said.
Whitesides called Wednesday a “heartbreaking day” after visiting the Hurst Fire’s incident command center.
“Obviously, we’ve got to do everything we can at the federal level to make sure that the resources that we need to rebuild these communities are available,” he said Wednesday in a phone interview, mentioning President Joe Biden’s approval of federal aid. “And so that’s going to go a long way to getting us the money that we need to rebuild.”
Schiavo said in a phone interview Thursday she had just been briefed by the state’s Office of Emergency Services, and she was urging residents to check on any available state and federal aid by checking FEMA’s website.
“People can go to disasterassistance.gov, there’s also a FEMA app you can download or you can call 1-800-621-FEMA (3362),” she said.
Martinez Valladares wrote she’s been in constant contact with state officials, and wanted her constituents to know her office is available to help those affected.
“I am heartbroken by the widespread impact of these devastating wildfires, and I’m praying for those who have lost their homes, livelihoods, or loved ones to this unprecedented disaster,” according to an email Thursday that Bryan Shroyer, the senator’s chief of staff, sent on her behalf. “I am also extremely grateful to the brave firefighters and first responders who are putting themselves in harm’s way to protect our communities.”
