A brush fire, dubbed the “Bike Fire,” prompted evacuation orders in the area near Sand Canyon on Cambria Estates Lane on Sunday afternoon amid erratic winds and a threat to structures — and by Monday afternoon the evacuation orders had been lifted and the fire was 81% contained, according to officials with the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
L.A. County Fire Department and other agencies’ personnel were quick to respond to the Bike Fire, with over 250 firefighters and roughly 75 from U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, according to Capt. Aaron Katon, public information officer for the Fire Department.
Initially, firefighters thought the fire was small in the Sand Canyon area, but due to heavy winds and uphill terrain, the fire quickly expanded, Katon said during an in-person interview Sunday afternoon near Fire Station 123, the command post for the fire.
The fire was burning southwest with erratic winds, Katon said during a follow-up call on Sunday evening.
Katon said there were roughly 483 structures threatened in the evacuation order areas, and about 1,800 people were affected in the area.
“The warning area is bigger than that, and we always tell people, don’t wait to receive the order to go. You can always go and come back,” Katon said.
He added that the reasons behind the rapid fire behavior were the fuels, weather and topography.
“And today, we had two and a half of those that … with the fuels, that, as you look around, there are beautiful trees and bushes here, but under fire conditions, these are fuel … however, the weather has been as about as unfavorable as you could hope, with the winds,” Katon said. “The winds are the biggest factor with weather. Right? When you look at weather, and then these erratic winds that, as this storm, this formerly tropical storm, Rachel, as it pushed through the L.A. basin and dropped all its rain on the other side of the mountains, as it comes into Santa Clarita, it moves in as a dry storm.”
Katon said with the winds and no rain to dampen the fire, it was much more prone to spread quickly.
Katon added that, in such a hilly area, the fire hits the hills and will run quickly uphill.
When asked what advice he had for residents on what to take during an evacuation, he said the five P’s: photos, paperwork, prescriptions, plastic and pets.
Katon added that Santa Clarita is a model for preparedness in these conditions – but he advises all residents to be prepared, have a plan, and harden their home.
Ryan Carpenter, the homeowner whose wife called 911 about the fire, said his mother-in-law saw the smoke, prompting his wife to call the first responders.
He said he looked up at the ridge and saw a bunch of flames.
Carpenter said things like this have happened before, but he and his wife are always prepared and have heavy equipment like fire hoses in case of emergency.
During the initial evacuations, residents were seen leaving with their pets and children. Horses and other animals were also being evacuated as well.
By late-afternoon, it seemed firefighters were getting the upper hand: “The fire is holding at 275 acres with hose line around approximately 40% of the fire, per HLCO,” Watch Duty reported.
Earlier, structures had been reported threatened in the area of Pineview Road, Mountain Park Road/Falter Road, and Pacy Street.
A third-alarm response was requested for the blaze, which was first reported at 1:07 p.m.
It was projected at 1:48 p.m. that the fire had potential to hit 150-200 acres within an hour.
As of 8 a.m. Monday, Katon said there were roughly 150 firefighters assigned to the morning shift. He said there were five engines, the leader sets of about 21 people and a water tender, two patrols, and eight camp crews.
No structures were burned overnight, Katon said.
All road closures were lifted at 7:45 p.m. on Sunday, Katon said during a follow-up interview on Monday afternoon.
He added that everyone working on the fire was scheduled to be released around 8 p.m. on Monday.
