LOS ANGELES — Southern California experienced its most intense heat wave of the year as firefighters battled large blazes that forced evacuations and the state was under a flex alert because of an extreme power demand that officials warn could lead to rolling blackouts.
The heat wave is expected to last into next week, perhaps as late as Wednesday, bringing extreme temperatures to both inland and many coastal areas and heightening fire dangers.
Firefighters made some progress Thursday in their battle against a wildfire near Castaic that had burned more than 5,000 acres overnight.
The fire, called the Route fire, had exploded across 5,208 acres overnight and was 12% contained by Thursday morning, according to an incident update by the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
One structure had been destroyed and 550 others remained threatened. No civilian casualties were reported, but seven firefighters were injured.
A helitanker and other air resources were used throughout the night to fight the fire. Officials planned to deploy additional aircraft on Thursday and to use ground resources in the morning hours before daytime temperatures soared.
But the low humidity, excessive heat and steep terrain threaten responders’ efforts. According to the incident report, teams are focused on keeping the fire west of Castaic Lake, east of Palomas Canyon, south of Fall Creek and north of Lake Hughes Road.
Officials are scheduled to give a news conference at 10 a.m. with more updates.
The fire was first reported along the 5 Freeway near Lake Hughes Road just after noon on Wednesday, leading to full lane closures in both directions. According to the California Department of Transportation, one northbound lane and two southbound lanes between Lake Hughes Road and Templin Highway remained closed Thursday. There was no timing on when they might reopen.
The blaze also led to evacuation orders that remained in place Thursday for north of Northlake Hills Elementary School and south of Templin Highway — including the Paradise Ranch Estates mobile home park — east of the 5 and west of Castaic Lagoon.
The Red Cross Los Angeles opened two shelters for evacuees, including at Frazier Mountain High School, located at 700 Falcon Way, and West Ranch High School at 26255 West Valencia Blvd.
Evacuations south of Northlake Hills Elementary School were lifted Wednesday evening, according to the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department.
Schools are under voluntary closures, Jensen said. Northlake Hills Elementary School remained closed Thursday. Castaic area high schools remained open.
Videos from KTLA-TV Channel 5 show that parts of the fire produced fire whirls Wednesday afternoon. At least 250 county firefighters were assigned to the blaze along with 115 U.S. Forest Service firefighters, eight air tankers and nine helicopters. Seven firefighters were reported to have sustained injuries.
Little said the blaze was being driven by fuels parched by years of drought.
A fast-moving wildfire in rural east San Diego County charred more than 4,240 acres Wednesday, racing through bone-dry brush, injuring two people and destroying at least four buildings as the region baked under extreme heat.
Records already broken
The first day of a punishing heat wave brought new high temperature records to the Los Angeles area.
Woodland Hills reached 112 degrees, breaking the previous daily record of 111 degrees set on Aug. 31, 1998, according to the National Weather Service office in Oxnard.
The temperature could continue climbing “and probably isn’t done yet,” meteorologists said.
Burbank’s high of 112 broke the previous daily record of 108 degrees set in 2017, and Sandberg reached 100 degrees, exceeding the previous high of 98 degrees, also in 2017, the weather service said.
Flex alerts
Authorities are worried about power capacity in part because high temperatures are forecast not just across inland regions that typically broil this time of year, but also along many parts of the coast. That could mean many more people reaching for the air conditioning during peak hours.
Officials are asking Californians to limit electricity use when possible to minimize strain on the state’s energy providers, otherwise risking rolling blackouts. Losing power during such extreme heat can be highly dangerous, if not deadly, especially for the most vulnerable.
California officials on Wednesday issued the first statewide flex alert during this heat wave, as most of the state experienced extreme heat. A second flex alert was issued for Thursday.
During a flex alert, consumers are urged to reduce their energy use in the afternoon and evening hours, when the grid is most stressed because of high demand and less available energy from solar panels.
