Saddleridge Fire

The Saddleridge fire broke out late in the evening hours of Thursday, October 10, at around 9:03 pm during a highly anticipated Santa Ana wind event scheduled to commence throughout that day.{{cite web |last1=Margolis |first1=Jacob |title=The Devil Winds Are Back — And So Is The Fire Danger|url=https://laist.com/2019/10/09/santa-ana-winds-fire-danger-power-outage.php|work=LAist|access-date=October 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191009201325/https://laist.com/2019/10/09/santa-ana-winds-fire-danger-power-outage.php|archive-date=October 9, 2019|url-status=dead}} Igniting in Sylmar, off Interstate 210 and Yarnell Street, the blaze immediately began pushing predominantly west as it burned in all directions. Burning in a mixture of wild land and urban interface, firefighters were tasked initially with structure protection as the fire loomed to {{cvt|200|acre|-1}} within its first hour.{{cite web|last1=Stanglin|first1=Doug|last2=Woodyard|first2=Chris|last3=Hauck|first3=Grace|title=Two dead near Los Angeles as Saddleridge fire forces 100,000 people to evacuate|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/10/11/california-saddleridge-fire-spreading-evacuations-power-outages/3941274002/|work=USA Today|access-date=October 11, 2019}} By early Friday morning, the high winds had blown embers half a mile (800 m) west of the main fireline, jumping Interstate 5, and triggered spot fires in the foothills above Porter Ranch where the fire continued to burn.{{cite web |title=Saddleridge Fire jumps two freeways in southern California, thousands of evacuations ordered|url=https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/national/saddleridge-fire-wildfire-jumps-two-freeways-in-southern-california-grows-to-1-600-acres|work=ABC Action News|date=October 11, 2019 |access-date=October 11, 2019}} During these initial hours, many likened the fire's footprint to that of the destructive Sayre and Sesnon fires in 2008.{{cite web|last1=Lloyd|first1=Jonathan|title=Map: See Where the Saddleridge Fire is Burning |url=https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/California-Saddleridge-Sayre-Fire-Wildfires-Map-562846761.html|work=NBC 4 News |date=October 11, 2019 |access-date=October 11, 2019}} By that time, the fire was threatening thousands of structures throughout the Sylmar, Porter Ranch and Granada Hills communities as well as forcing the closure of both Interstate 210 and Interstate 5. Mandatory evacuations were put in place for the Oakridge Estates, which had previous been destroyed in the Sayre fire, as the conflagration ballooned to {{convert|1,600|acre|ha|abbr=on}} by 3 am.{{cite web |last1=Licas |first1=Eric |last2=Gundran|first2=Robert|title=Saddleridge fire in Sylmar burns at least 1,600 acres, forces evacuations; flames leap over 5 Freeway|url=https://www.dailynews.com/2019/10/10/sylmar-homes-evacuated-as-fire-burns-near-210-freeway/|work=Los Angeles Daily News |date=October 11, 2019 |access-date=October 11, 2019}}

By sunrise on Friday, October 11, the fire was reportedly well over {{convert|4,500|acre|ha|abbr=on}} with an estimated 25 structures either damaged or destroyed. The fire had also reportedly lead to the death of a man in his late 50s when he went into cardiac arrest amid the fire.{{cite web |last1=Fausto |first1=Alma |last2=Plachta |first2=Ariella |title=Saddleridge fire in Sylmar races through 7,500 acres, with homes burned, 1 dead and only 13% containment |url=https://www.dailynews.com/2019/10/11/saddleridge-blaze-in-sylmar-spreads-to-4000-acres-burning-homes-forcing-evacuations/ |work=Los Angeles Daily News|date=October 11, 2019 |access-date=October 11, 2019}} One firefighter was hospitalized with a minor eye injury while over 1,000 personnel were on scene battling the blaze by this point. Due to the Saddleridge fire's dramatic push towards the several highly populated communities within the San Fernando Valley, up to 23,000 homes were placed under mandatory evacuation, leaving over 100,000 residents displaced at the fire's peak.

The Los Angeles Fire Department has determined that the fire began under a {{cvt|50|x|70|ft|m|adj=on}} area under a high voltage transmission line, but they had not determined the cause as of October 28. 98% of the fire is contained.{{cite web |website=CNN|title=The massive Saddle Ridge fire started under a high-voltage transmission tower, Los Angeles fire officials say |author=Holly Yan|date=Oct 15, 2019|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2019/10/15/us/saddle-ridge-fire-california-tuesday/index.html}}

On October 18 at 7:00 a.m., the Los Angeles Fire Department released information regarding the fire and the efforts to contain it. The size of the fire had grown to a sizeable {{cvt|8391|acre}} with 19 structures being destroyed and another 88 being damaged. Injuries included a man dying from cardiac arrest at a hospital, he was a resident of the area claimed by the fire. Out of the 1,047 personnel that was assigned to contain the fire, eight firefighters suffered non-life-threatening injuries while battling the flames. The containment has reached 97% according to the data provided by the Los Angeles Fire Department.{{Cite web |url=https://www.lafd.org/news/saddle-ridge-brush-fire|title=Saddle Ridge Brush Fire|date=October 22, 2019|website=Los Angeles Fire Department|language=en|access-date=November 3, 2019}}

2008 Sayre Fire

2025 Hurst Fire, fire that burned in roughly the same footprint.

{{reflist}}

• [https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents Current Fire Incidents from fire.ca.gov]
• {{Commons category-inline|Saddleridge fire}}

{{California wildfires}}

Category:2019 California wildfires

Category:October 2019 in the United States

Category:Wildfires in Los Angeles County, California

Category:Sylmar, Los Angeles

Category:2019 in Los Angeles County, California