Latest: Southern California wildfire is now 33% contained

By Associated Press 13 October 2019, 12:00AM

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Latest on wildfires in California (all times local):

8:45 p.m.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department says the wildfire in the San Fernando Valley is now 33% contained. The wildfire covers 12 square miles (31 square kilometers.)

The department says Saturday night that winds and temperatures have fallen to normal levels after the Santa Ana winds passed through the region.

A man went into cardiac arrest and died at the scene of a wildfire that broke out late Thursday.

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7 p.m.

State officials say the 1.5-square-mile wildfire in Riverside County is now 68 percent contained.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection says in a tweet Saturday night that firefighters are continuing to battle the blaze and that the evacuation order remains for the Villa Calimesa Mobile Home Park.

Earlier Saturday, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department said a second body was found at the mobile home park where 74 structures were destroyed

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5 p.m.

Authorities announced that all evacuation orders for the wildfire that hit the San Fernando Valley have been lifted. In a tweet, the Los Angeles Police Department says: "We thank members of the community for promptly heeding the evacuation orders and their patience as we worked to contain the fire."

In Los Angeles, a man went into cardiac arrest and died at the scene of a wildfire that broke out late Thursday and damaged or destroyed 31 structures.

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11:45 a.m.

Authorities say three people are now confirmed dead at the scene of destructive wildfires in Southern California.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Department says a second body was found at a mobile home park where 74 structures were destroyed Thursday in Calimesa. Officials had previously reported one death at the community east of Los Angeles.

The department says one of the victims has been identified as 89-year-old Lois Arvikson. Her son Don Turner had said his mother called him to say she was evacuating, but he never heard from her again.

Authorities are working to identify the other victim in Calimesa.

In Los Angeles, a man went into cardiac arrest and died at the scene of a wildfire that broke out late Thursday and damaged or destroyed 31 structures.

Meanwhile, authorities on Saturday lifted some evacuation orders for areas near the LA fire.

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8:15 a.m.

Containment is inching up on a smoky Los Angeles wildfire that damaged or destroyed more than 30 structures, as crews take advantage of calmer winds and cooler temperatures.

Officials say the blaze in the San Fernando Valley hasn't grown significantly since Friday. It's 19% contained Saturday morning.

Thousands of people remain under evacuation orders. Authorities warn there's still potential for flare-ups even as weather conditions improve.

Air quality is poor as smoke from the fire settles over much of greater Los Angeles.

To the east, a blaze that ripped through a Riverside County mobile home park, destroying dozens of residences, is 25% contained with minimal growth.

Meanwhile in Northern California, the lights are back on for 98% of customers who lost power when Pacific Gas & Electric switched it off in an effort to prevent wildfires.

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12:05 a.m.

Santa Ana winds that drove fires through two Southern California areas have died down but flames that destroyed dozens of homes continue to rage.

A blaze in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles was only 13% contained Saturday after destroying 13 buildings. One man who had tried to fight the blaze died of a heart attack.

The fast-moving fire is keeping tens of thousands of people from returning to their homes until officials are convinced it's safe.

The fire broke out Thursday, just hours after flaming garbage in a trash truck sparked another wind-whipped blaze that ravaged a mobile park in Calimesa, east of Los Angeles.

Several residents of the park were unaccounted for and the family of an 89-year-old woman says they fear she died when her home burned.

By Associated Press 13 October 2019, 12:00AM
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