Creek Fire 80 Percent Contained; More Than 50 Homes Destroyed

SYLMAR, CA — Thousands of people forced out of their homes by the Creek Fire burning in the hills above Sylmar were back home Saturday after all evacuation orders connected to the blaze were lifted. The wind-driven Creek Fire, which broke out at 3:42 a.m. Tuesday, was 80 percent contained as of 6 a.m Saturday.

On Friday, all evacuation orders were lifted at 6 p.m. and red-flag parking restrictions were lifted at 8 a.m. All roads have re-opened, except in the Santiago Estates mobile home park and Little Tujunga Canyon from the Middle Ranch equestrian facility to Live Oak Campground, which is only open to residents, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The fire has destroyed 56 homes and 49 outbuildings, damaged another 45 homes and 25 outbuildings and scorched 15,619 acres, Cal Fire reported.

Currently, there are 2,500 structures that continue to be threatened.

Almost 2,000 firefighters and other personnel were deployed Friday against the blaze. Three firefighters suffered minor injuries Tuesday.

Virginia Padilla, whose family owns a ranch in Sylmar, told reporters the fire killed at least 30 of the ranch's horses. Padilla said she and her family were able to get out of her home just in time Tuesday morning but were not able to take their horses with them.

Evacuation orders first issued Tuesday affected about 150,000 households citywide, according to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who said "thousands upon thousands of homes" had been protected over the past few days.

An estimated 2,500 structures were threatened by the Creek Fire at one point, according to the U.S. Forest Service, which was fighting the blaze in a unified command with the Los Angeles city and county fire departments.

All Los Angeles Unified School District schools in the San Fernando Valley and some on Los Angeles' Westside -- a total of 265 district schools and charter schools -- were closed Friday.

The blaze is expected to be fully contained by Monday, Cal Fire reported.

The fire was one of several to affect Southern California this week. The largest fire sparked in Ventura County where more than 143,000 acres burned starting inland before reaching the Pacific Ocean. One person died in the Ventura County Thomas Fire.

The fires were fueled by erratic Santa Ana winds with forecasters issuing a red flag warning through Sunday night.

--City News Service; Patch editor Hoa Quach contributed to this report; Photo: A home burns during the "Creek Fire" in the Lake View Terrace area of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)