Motorist Killed in Fiery Crash That Sparked San Gabriel Complex Fire ID'd

AZUSA, CA - Authorities on Friday identified a motorist killed in a crash that sparked a wildfire near Azusa -- one of the two fires that scorched 5,399 acres since breaking out more than a week ago.

The San Gabriel Complex Fire consists of two blazes that burned relatively close to each other but that never merged. The Reservoir Fire, which consumed 1,146 acres, was listed at 96 percent contained today. The Fish Fire, at 4,253 acres, was also 96 percent contained, The U.S. Forest Service reported.

The Reservoir Fire broke out shortly after 11 a.m. June 20 near the Morris Reservoir dam north of Azusa, according to the USFS. It was sparked by a vehicle that crashed off Highway 39 near the reservoir, killing the motorist, authorities said. The man was identified Friday as Michael Spengler, 53, whose home town was not known, said coroner's Assistant Chief Ed Winter.

About 90 minutes after the Reservoir Fire began, a second blaze was reported near Opal Canyon and Brookridge roads near the Duarte/Azusa border, about four miles southwest of the Reservoir Fire. That blaze, dubbed the Fish Fire, quickly roared into the foothills. The cause of the Fish Fire remained under investigation.

Firefighting personnel on Friday continued working to douse hot spots. With the fire nearly out, authorities were looking ahead to salvaging and protecting the area in dispatching a Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) team to identify imminent post-wildfire threats, forest officials said.

Concerns include the loss of vegetation; soil exposed to erosion risks; and hazards stemming from the runoff of water used to battle the blaze, including flooding, an increase of sediment and damage to critical natural resources, forest officials said.

Crews worked to install water bars, which are water- or erosion-control ditches that channel water away from the burned area to help prevent erosion.

Authorities on Wednesday evening reopened Highway 39, which had been shut down at old San Gabriel Road amid last week's evacuations from the foothills above Azusa and Duarte; 1,376 residences were cleared out in the area due to the threat of the blaze. The evacuations were all called off June 27, and an American Red Cross evacuation center to accommodate the residents was closed.

With the Fourth of July holiday beginning, forest officials stressed to the public that fireworks are illegal every day in every forest and campsite. Drones are also restricted from the area, authorities said.

Fire condition information is available at (626) 574-5208.

-- City News Service, photo courtesy of the National Weather Service