Relief And Sorrow Slam Returning Creek Fire Evacuees

SYLMAR, CA — After three tense days of waiting and worrying, residents in the path of the 15,323-acre Creek Fire returned home Friday to see what was left.

For many relief to be home was tempered with sorry for the loss and devastation suffered by neighbors. As of 8 a.m. Friday, the fire had destroyed 33 homes and 32 outbuildings, damaged another 28 homes and 19 outbuildings and scorched 15,323 acres, Cal Fire reported. With random cruelty, the embers skipped down residential streets, sparing some homes and destroying others. About 20 of the damaged homes were 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.

All evacuations were lifted as the blaze reached 70 percent containment.

One family-owned ranch lost half their stable of horses to the fire.

The fight is not over for many. Hundreds of firefighters continue to battle active flames. Dozens of families lost their cars and homes, and now must figure out how to salvage what is left.

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 40 percent contained as of Friday morning..

Three firefighters suffered what were considered to be 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 Mayor Eric Garcetti who said "thousands upon thousands of homes" had been protected over the past few days.

"Obviously, this is a fire that is burning much less intensely," Garcetti said Thursday afternoon, while warning that conditions remain unpredictable with strong winds expected through the weekend.

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

A full list of closed schools was available at lausd.net.

To assist families affected by the closures, the LAUSD planned set up special centers between 11:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with meals will be available for students, at:

• Byrd Middle School, 8501 Arleta Ave. in Sun Valley;
• Reseda High School, 18230 Kittridge St. in Reseda; and
• Palms Middle School, 10860 Woodbine St. in Palms.

Classes were canceled at Cal State Northridge because high winds and smoke in the San Fernando Valley has affected air quality and traffic conditions around the campus. Classes were to resume on Friday.

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.

Terrazas warned that the battle was likely to continue until at least Friday.

The LAPD was placed on a citywide tactical alert, which allows commanders to keep officers beyond the end of their shifts, giving them maximum flexibility in deploying resources. The alert was lifted about 5 p.m. Thursday.

As the fire burned on Tuesday, the Foothill (210) Freeway was closed in both directions between the Golden State (5) Freeway and the Glendale (2) Freeway, but the freeway had been reopened by Wednesday afternoon, though some freeway ramps remained closed, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Only the Osborne Street on- and off-ramps remained closed Thursday night, the CHP reported.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin 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)