Forward Progress Halted On Martindale Fire In Santa Clarita Valley Canyons, Evacuations Remain
SANTA CLARITA (CBSLA) — Forward progress on the Martindale Fire, which broke out Monday afternoon in the Bouquet Canyon north of Santa Clarita, has been stopped, but evacuation orders were still in place.
The fire has burned 230 acres in the Castaic Canyons and was 40% contained as of Tuesday morning. Forward progress on the fire was halted a little before 7 p.m.
The Martindale Fire was first reported to be 10 acres at about 3 p.m. in the 34700 block of Bouquet Canyon Road in the Angeles National Forest. The fire's acreage jumped to 230 acres in under an hour. Air tankers, Super Scoopers and water-dropping helicopters were used to battle the flames, along with another 200 firefighters on the ground.
An evacuation order was ordered for about a dozen homes along Bouquet Canyon Road, from the Reservoir Dam to mile marker 11.5.
Additionally, an evacuation warning was in effect from Bouquet Canyon Road from mile marker 11.5 to the Texas Canyon Ranger Station.
Roads were also closed along Bouquet Canyon Road, from Vasquez Canyon to the Reservoir Dam.
The evacuations and road closures remained in effect early Tuesday morning.
"We get ready to be proactive where we can be proactive," said resident Slater Stowell. "That's the most that we can do."
About 10 to 12 homes were reportedly in the path of the flames, but so far no injuries or property damage have been reported.
"I'm just glad that everyone's safe and no one got hurt," Stowell said. "It's just one less fire to be dealing with."
Several residents in the area have horses that need to be evacuated whenever there is fire danger.
"When fires happen, we hook the trailers up to the trucks, get ready to go evacuate horses, and start calling folks that we know are in the area, see if they need anything," Colby Barritt told CBSLA Tuesday.
The National Weather Service told CBSLA that meteorologists are concerned about the potential for more wildfires due to the low humidity and high heat that will blanket the Southland through Thursday.
The Angeles National Forest and L.A. County Fire Department are in unified command. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
