Acton California

Acton California

The fire is now threatening the city of Acton, California, and local homes are being evacuated, said Jennifer Sanchez, a spokeswoman for the Angeles National Forest. “The temperatures are still high and the winds are pushing the fire to the north,” Sanchez said in a phone interview. The fire is still only 5 percent contained, and may be finally under control on Sept. 8, the forest service said on its Web site.

Firefighters likely aren’t going to receive much help today with temperatures expected to remain in the mid-90 degree Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius) range as a high-pressure system slowly weakens during the next several days, said Heather Buchman, a meteorologist with AccuWeather.com in State College, Pennsylvania. The high pressure is preventing cooler, moist air from the ocean from flowing onshore, keeping humidity levels low, she said. As of yesterday, California had more than 5,200 firefighters battling eight major blazes across the state that burned more than 21,000 acres, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.

The blaze nearly tripled in size in triple-digit heat Saturday, leaving three people burned, destroying at least three homes and forcing the evacuation of 1,000 homes and an untold number of people. A slight drop in temperatures and an influx of fire crews from around the state were expected to bring some relief Sunday. Mandatory evacuations were in effect for neighborhoods in Altadena, Glendale, Pasadena, La Crescenta and Big Tujunga Canyon.