Crews gain upper hand on fire near Santa Clarita as SoCal faces another day of hot temps
The blaze is 0% contained and Southern California is expected to see potentially dangerous temperatures in the high 80s on Monday.
AGUA DULCE, Calif. -- Firefighters overnight gained the upper hand on a brush fire that ignited Sunday evening and quickly consumed at least 1,100 acres near Agua Dulce and Canyon Country.
By early Monday morning, flames from the Soledad Fire seemed to remain mostly subdued as crews worked to stamp out any problem areas. The blaze is 20% contained and Southern California is expected to see potentially dangerous temperatures in the high 80s on Monday.
Diminished winds and hot temperatures overnight allowed firefighters to make some progress on the fire, but the elevated fire weather expected by the afternoon may pose a problem.
The fire resulted in the shut down of the Antelope Valley Freeway and evacuation orders for neighborhoods from Agua Dulce Canyon Road to Briggs and Soledad Canyon to the 14 Freeway.
The Red Cross set up a parking lot as a temporary site for shelter, but evacuees were required to stay in the vehicles, apparently because of COVID-19 restrictions.
The evacuation site was established at the Victory Outreach parking lot, 37419 25th St. East, Palmdale.
The county's Department of Animal Care and Control is using the Castaic Animal Care Center at 31044 Charlie Canyon Road to shelter large animals affected by the fire.
Authorities are still in the process of determining the cause of the fire but say they've been called to several fires in recent days that were ignited by fireworks.
"Fireworks are a big concern for firefighters and every community member out there, especially when you live in a brush area and that fire can threaten your home," said Los Angeles County Fire Department Chief Deputy David Richardson.
