Photo by Pyromanic975A new fire started late last night in Los Angeles in the Sylmar area. It is named the Sayer fire, and is burning in the same general area as the Sesnon fire of last month.
Here is a map showing the evacuation area, provided by Los Angeles Fire Department.
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In a press conference that concluded at 8:20 a.m. PT, the following information was provided by the Mayor of Los Angeles and fire officials.
- The fire has crossed both the 5 and 210 freeways.
- “Dozens” of structures have burned. An ICS-209 from about 7 a.m. said 65 structures had burned, but that number is likely to increase.
- The fire has burned 2,600 acres and is spotting 1/4 mile ahead.
- A major powerline that brings a large percentage of the electricity to the LA area is threatened. The fire is burning under and across it. If the powerline fails, it will have a huge affect on the urban area and rolling blackouts may be necessary. The mayor asked citizens to conserve power.
- Four firefighters have been injured. Three of them are from LA City FD and one is from LA County FD. No other details were provided about the nature of the injuries.
- Portions of the fire have burned into the Sesnon fire of last month.
Here is a map of the Sayer fire near Sylmar that was created from satellite imagery last night. It is at least several hours old and does not show that the fire has crossed the 5 freeway, which it has. The red area is the fire. It is moving toward the west or southwest.
Shortly after the press conference, a person from the LA Dept. of Water and Power was interviewed who said that of the 5 major powerlines coming into the city, two are down for repairs. He was not clear on why or when, but it seemed that they were already down when the fire started. This would complicate matters if a third one went down.
