Massive California fire picks up pace

LOCKWOOD VALLEY, Calif. – Fire trucks, bulldozers and water tankers guarded homes within sight of a massive wildfire Tuesday as officials urged rural residents of Southern California mountain communities to evacuate.

Thick smoke turned the sky gray and purplish as flames rolled through pines and juniper trees on slopes of Los Padres National Forest, where more than 3,500 firefighters have battled the blaze since it started on Labor Day.

No houses have been lost to the fire, one of the largest and longest-burning wildfires in state history, burning about 70 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Overall, containment was just 43 percent.

Authorities recommended evacuation of Lockwood Valley, Pinon Pines, Pine Mountain Club and Lake of the Woods – remote Ventura County communities arrayed along roads west of Interstate 5.

Water- and retardant-dropping helicopters and aircraft attacked the flames from the sky. On the ground, crews staged equipment at the widely spaced homes for structure protection. At almost every house there was at least one engine and a few firefighters clearing brush, hosing down roofs and decks.

Dale King was helping firefighters clear brush around his home when flames roared across the edge of his 5-acre property.

“The house was vibrating. It sounded like a freight train in the yard,” 57-year-old King said.

The new fire activity was a surprise setback for firefighters. The blaze that had been moving relatively slowly with the dying of weekend Santa Ana winds.

The blaze, which has burned more than 143,100 acres – 223 square miles – of wilderness, was ignited by someone burning debris. Firefighting costs have topped $41 million.