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Evacuations ordered due to 11,000-acre brush fire in northern LA County
June 16, 2024
Evacuations were ordered near a brush fire in the Gorman area north of Los Angeles that grew to 11,000 acres Sunday morning.
The Post Fire was burning near the southbound 5 Freeway and Gorman Road. The blaze was reported shortly before 2 p.m., according to Cal Fire.
The fire was estimated at 10,500 acres early Sunday, more that double the estimated size reported late Saturday.
The fire was threatening nearby buildings and led to the evacuation of about 1,200 people from the Hungry Valley State Vehicular Recreation Area. Pyramid Lake was also closed.
Two commercial properties were damaged and two were threatened. Details about the damaged properties were not immediately available.
"Firefighters are engaged in a wildland fire in Gorman near Hungry Valley Park, moving southeast towards Lake Pyramid," Cal Fire said in a Sunday update. "Currently crews are working to construct perimeter fire lines around the flakes of the fire. Aircraft are working to stop forward progress but have limited visibility. Currently the fire is pushing up into Hungry Valley Park."
Evacuation orders
The LA County Fire Department announced on X that structures were being threatened and evacuation orders were in place for the following areas:
Hungry Valley State Vehicular Recreation Area
Areas west of the McDonald's at 49000 Gorman School Road.
Evacuation warnings
Areas south of Pyramid Lake between Old Ridge Route and the LA County line, including Paradise Ranch Estates.
As of 7 p.m., roughly 1,200 people were evacuated from the Hungry Valley campsite, according to Craig Little, a Public Information Officer with LA County Fire.
According to the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station, the town of Castiac has been placed on an "Evacuation Warning" due to expected high winds Saturday night.
The blaze comes as the Southland faces an increase in winds, creating challenging conditions for firefighters. Gusts were around 20 mph the evening of Saturday when the fire started – and they're not done yet.
"Overnight, those winds will continue to crank up," said NBC4 Meteorologist Stephanie Olmo.
She said in her forecast that winds will stay steady around 40 mph through Sunday.
“The high winds are definitely going to play a role, but the drop in temperatures is going to help, as well," Little said.
The fire comes as crews in Hesperia respond to a separate brush fire.
Air quality
The South Coast Air Quality Management District issued a Wildfire Smoke Advisory due to smoke from the Post Fire.
Northwesterly winds were expected to push smoke southeast toward Santa Clarita, the San Fernando Valley, and parts of the Angeles National Forest on Saturday night and Sunday morning.
https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/california-wildfires/brush-fire-gorman-la-county-fire/3437697/