Change of weather helps firefighters control Los Angeles Wildfires

The Saddleridge fire broke out on the night of October 10 and erupted across the northern edge of San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles which has destroyed nearly 8,000 acres (3,237 hectares). According to the fire officials, by October 13, it was only confined to foothills and canyons that too away from the populated areas. Dry desert winds from the California desert had earlier stoked the fires. However, later moister winds from the Pacific had subdues it, due to which, the firefighters had managed to even carve the containment lines.

Containment lines

Due to the fire being confined to an area, the fire officials were able to draw containment lines in nearly 41 percent of the fire's perimeter. This was also more than double the containment level which was also reported by the authorities a day before. As the fires erupted initially, the authorities lifted all the remaining evacuation notices. The forest blazes were at the height of the blaze on Friday and nearly 23,000 homes were evacuated which included the dislocation of nearly a hundred thousand people from several communities in northern Los Angeles. 

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One man who stayed put

As reported by the international agency, one man had stayed put in an effort to defend his own property from the forest fires. He later suffered a fatal heart attack. Three firefighters out of nearly thousands were assigned to the blaze reportedly also suffered minor injuries. The blazes have wrecked 32 homes and other structures. The last of the two several emergency evacuation shelters were set up during the blase were close yesterday. The shift in wind patterns was the main factor that improved the outlook on fire made it controllable over the weekend. Initially, the fires were destroying forests at the rate of 800 acres per hour which covered the area with smoke that further led to the issue of an advisory for unhealthy air quality. 

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(With agency inputs)