100,000 Forced To Flee Creek Fire; 30 Homes Damaged

SYLMAR, CA — Tens of Thousands of residents returned Thursday night to see if their homes survived the raging Creek Fire as firefighters continue to make progress against the wind- driven blaze.

Evacuation orders were lifted late Thursday afternoon for most of the Creek Fire-affected area, with the exception of parts of the Shadow Hills and Riverwood neighborhoods, as well as the Limekiln Canyon area.
Three firefighters suffered what were considered to be minor injuries Tuesday.

The fire broke out at 3:42 a.m. Tuesday in the area of Gold Creek and Little Tujunga roads in the Kagel Canyon area and destroyed five homes and 10 outbuildings, damaged another eight homes and seven outbuildings and scorched 15,323 acres, according to Cal Fire.

Almost 1,700 firefighters and other personnel were deployed Thursday against the blaze, which was 20 percent contained as of 8:30 p.m.

Red-flag parking restrictions will be lifted at 8 a.m. Friday.

The fire remains at 10 percent containment, but that number is expected to increase Thursday evening, he said. The fire has still destroyed 15 structures and damaged 15 others.

More than 100,000 people were forced to flee their homes as the wind-whipped Creek Fire scorches 12,60f acres, destroying or damaging at least 30 homes and killing pets and livestock. Extreme fire conditions driven by 80 mph wind gusts show no signs of letting up Thursday.

Spread out across the Southland in hotels and evacuation centers, residents in the fire's path continue to await news of their home's fate as the furious Santa Ana winds reached hurricane-level gusts overnight.

The blaze, which broke out at 3:42 a.m. Tuesday in the area of Gold Creek and Little Tujunga roads in the Kagel Canyon area, was estimated at 15,00 acres by late Wednesday night. More than 1,600 firefighters and other personnel were deployed against the fire, which was 15 percent contained. Three firefighters were injured Tuesday, and were hospitalized in stable condition.

At least 30 homes were destroyed or damaged, about 20 of them in the Little Tujunga, Kagel Canyon and Lopez Canyon areas. The other 10 homes were within Los Angeles city limits, according to Margaret Stewart of the Los Angeles Fire Department. With random cruelty, the embers skipped down residential streets, sparing some homes and destroying others.

After evacuating Some residents returned home Wednesday to examine the burn area. Many were greeted with devastation.

Patricia Padilla returned to her family's horse ranch to find heartbreak after being ordered to evacuate on a moment's notice.

"All I could think about was the horses, the horses, the horses. And they were like, 'Get out, get out, get out,' " Padilla told the Los Angeles Times . "The structures can get rebuilt, but the lives of the horses can't. ... That's my biggest heartbreak."

When Padilla returned home Wednesday morning, her family found 29 of the animals dead. Many of the horses on the ranch were being boarded for other owners. Now Padilla's family will have to make dozens of calls to tell clients their horses didn't make it.

"It hurts a lot because these horses are family," Shelby Hope told the newspaper said as she stood near the horse's bodies. "They're not just horses — they're horses that we know, that we've become close to."

Evacuation orders first issued Tuesday were affecting about 110,000 households, according to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who said evacuated residents would not be allowed to return home for another night.

"We realize what an inconvenience this is and how traumatic this is to so many people, but we've watched fires in Northern California, we've seen through experience it's much better to err on the side of safety," Garcetti said at a Wednesday afternoon news briefing.

WATCH: Mayor Garcetti "Fire Near Downtown 20 Percent Contained

RELATED:

• Suspected Arsonist Caught Dancing In The Firelight
• Southern California Fires: 177K Evacuated, 405 Freeway Closed
• All That Smoke Can Really Hurt You: Stay Indoors, Officials Warn
• Dozens Of Horses Killed In Creek Fire
• Animal Evacuation Shelters In Los Angeles
• Rye Fire: 7,000 Acres Burned, 5% Contained, 5,000 Evacuated

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report. Photo: A resident holds a leaking hose on his burning property during the Creek Fire on December 5, 2017 in Sunland, California. Strong Santa Ana winds are rapidly pushing multiple wildfires across the region, expanding across tens of thousands of acres and destroying hundreds of homes and structures. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)