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LOS ANGELES-California highway officials say a 2,000-acre wildfire whipped by intense winds has forced the closure of a major Southern California freeway.The California Highway Patrol says the Foothill Freeway has been closed Monday morning in both directions between the 118 Freeway and Interstate 5.Los Angeles County Fire Captain Mark Savage says Santa Ana winds spurred the blaze to jump a fireline early Monday and burn toward the freeway and populated areas, most of which have already been evacuated"This is what we feared the most," said Los Angeles County fire Capt. Mark Savage. "The winds that were expected, they have arrived."Savage said water-dropping helicopters took to the air at about 5 a.m., but when conditions were determined to be unsafe, they were grounded.The blaze 20 miles north of downtown Los Angeles began early Sunday and sent about 1,200 people from their homes. All remained evacuated Monday morning. The cause of the fire was under investigation.Fire officials had warned that the fire could be a "sleeping giant," with gusts expected of up to 60 mph.The fire burned through 2,066 acres of rugged terrain in the Angeles National Forest, destroying a house, a garage, several sheds and three mobile homes. More than 1,200 people had evacuated and were advised not to return to their homes overnight."It jumped the ridge and came down like a madman," said Barry Demeter, who told KABC-TV his home had burned as he led his horses away. "I left when the embers were falling around the house."The fire was 20 percent contained and no serious injuries were reported.A "fire weather watch" was declared through Tuesday for all of Southern California except the deserts.The blaze threatened neighborhoods around Kagel and Lopez canyons, forcing the evacuation of about 450 homes. Many displaced residents sought refuge at a shelter set up at nearby San Fernando High School."It burned right down to a couple of neighborhoods," said U.S. Forest Service spokesman Stanton Florea.In northern California, firefighters also were busy battling a wind-driven fire that was burning out of control early Monday on the east side of Angel Island in San Francisco Bay, forcing the evacuation of campers and threatening some unoccupied buildings.Early Monday it and had grown to 250 acres, Marin County fire officials said.The island is a state park with a number of historic buildings, including an immigration station that was the first stop for many incoming immigrants in the early 1900s.Click here for more from MyFoxLA.com.
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