Community Corner

UPDATE: Monrovia Brush Fire Grows to 90 Acres, Mandatory Evacuations Ordered

Several hillside neighborhoods were ordered to evacuate Saturday afternoon as a brush fire above Monrovia continues to spread. Firefighters from Arcadia, Glendale, Montebello, the U.S. Forest Service and the Los Angeles County Fire Department assisted.

UPDATE (3:57 p.m.): The fire has now burned about 90 acres and one firefighter is being treated for a heat-related injury, city spokeswoman Jennifer McLain said.

The fire is 10 percent contained but fire officials do not have an estimate for when they can achieve total containment. The Monrovia Fire Department may soon have fewer resources available because of another brush fire reported in Santa Clarita.

"There's just been a report of a brush fire in Santa Clarita so that depletes some of the resources we have here," McLain said.

Find out what's happening in Montrose-La Crescentawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

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Previously:

Find out what's happening in Montrose-La Crescentawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Mandatory evacuations have been ordered for several hillside neighborhoods in Monrovia as a brush fire above the city grew to 50 acres Saturday.

The fire was 10 percent contained as of 2:40 p.m., according to city spokeswoman Jennifer McClain.

Mandatory evacuations were ordered for the following hillside neighborhoods: Heather Heights, Alta Vista Avenue, Melrose Avenue, Magnolia Avenue, Patricia Way, Hidden Valley Drive, Mesa Circle and Sky Way. Traffic is closed above Foothill Boulevard.

Monrovia Fire Chief Christopher Donovan said in a statement on Facebook that the fire should eventually be contained if winds remain calm.

"As long as we don't have the winds, we will be fine, but its not a Santa Ana day," Donovan wrote. "This is very old brush, over 55 years old, and a lot of fuel, but we have crews working very hard to contain the fire."

No structures have been damaged and there have been no reported injuries, McClain said. The Monrovia Community Center is being used as a shelter for evacuees.

The Los Angeles Fire Department sent a 25-person strike team to aid in the fire fight, according to the LAFD website. The fire is being referred to as the "Madison Fire," the site states. Firefighters from Arcadia, Glendale, Montebello, the U.S. Forest Service and the Los Angeles County Fire Department are also assisting.

Twenty-five fire trucks, about 125 firefighters and several helicopters were working to protect homes on the urban boundary in the wildlands of the steep San Gabriel Mountain foothills, adjacent to subdivisions and hillside homes in Arcadia and Monrovia, Donovan told City News Service.

--City News Service contributed to this report.


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