Watch CBS News

Firefighters Get Upper Hand On 3 Los Angeles-Area Brush Fires

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Three brush fires – two in the Angeles National Forest and one in Montebello – appeared Wednesday to be on their last legs, with none of them showing active flames.

Firefighters battling the 300-acre Warm Fire in Castaic reported 100 percent containment of the blaze. About 200 personnel remained on scene to make sure all hot spots were out.

The fire was reported around 3:30 p.m. Sunday in the area of Lake Hughes and Warm Springs roads. It destroyed six vacant structures.

The other L.A.-area fire, burning on the remote upper slopes of the Angeles National Forest above Glendora, was 98 percent contained, authorities said Wednesday.

The Cabin Fire has burned 1,723 acres. Marc Peebles of the Forest Service said firefighters were now seeking out hot spots, having extinguished the remaining pockets of active fire.

Eleven firefighters suffered minor injuries since the fire was first reported around 1 p.m. Friday near the Rincon-Red Box Road off Highway 39.

Arturo Miallan Aguilar, 45, a transient, is due to reappear in court Aug. 28 to faces charges of setting the fire in Montebello Hills. He was apparently trying to cook a meal in the riverbed of the Rio Hondo in Montebello Sunday afternoon when the fire got away from him, authorities said.

Aguilar pleaded not guilty in a Los Angeles courtroom Tuesday to a charge of recklessly causing a fire. Prosecutors said Aguilar faces up to three years in prison if convicted.

The blaze, known as the Lincoln Fire, was 80 percent contained, with no active areas, Los Angeles County Fire Department Inspector David Dantic said. The fire has burned 370 acres and also damaged oil field infrastructure, with the extent of that damage still being determined.

(©2015 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.