Officials ordered or urged tens of thousands of Orange County residents to evacuate after a leak involving methyl methacrylate at GKN Aerospace. The chemical, used in plastics and resins, is flammable and can cause health effects including breathing problems, nausea, nosebleeds, skin irritation and, in serious cases, hospitalization.

State officials declared an emergency, and about 50,000 people were told to follow evacuation directions. Public agencies announced shelters, care centers and hotlines for residents seeking help.

But disability advocates say those resources do not necessarily amount to a workable evacuation plan for people who cannot simply get into a car, drive away and sleep in a public shelter.

For a bedbound senior who depends on a caregiver, leaving home may require medical transport and continuous personal care. A resident who uses a power wheelchair may not be able to ride in a standard vehicle. Hospice patients, people who rely on oxygen, those needing dialysis, wound care or hospital beds, and residents with complex medical conditions may not be safe in a crowded gymnasium or community shelter.

Kelley Barrett, a retired nonprofit administrator who advocates for people with disabilities, said the Garden Grove incident exposed a persistent gap in emergency planning: public notices often tell residents where to go, but do not clearly explain how people with serious care needs will be identified, contacted, transported and housed safely.

Standard shelters may be suitable for evacuees who can walk, manage their own medication, use public restrooms, tolerate crowds and sleep on a cot. They are far less practical for residents who need caregivers, medical equipment, accessible bathrooms, wheelchair charging, oxygen support or medically appropriate placement.

Advocates are calling for counties to maintain active “access and functional needs” evacuation systems that go beyond written plans or website postings. Such systems, they argue, should include coordination with In-Home Supportive Services, Adult Protective Services, hospice providers, home health agencies, senior housing sites, regional centers and medical baseline programs.

They also say evacuation operations should include accessible transportation, medical transport, caregiver access, medication support, language access and shelters equipped for people with disabilities or significant health needs.

The Garden Grove emergency also has prompted calls for more transparency after major evacuations. Advocates say counties should report how many in-home care recipients, hospice patients, home health patients and oxygen-dependent residents were in evacuation zones; how many lacked transportation; how many were contacted directly; and where medically fragile residents were ultimately taken.

Those destinations could include accessible shelters, medical shelters, hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, hotels or relatives’ homes. Without public reporting, advocates say, it is difficult to know whether vulnerable residents were safely assisted or left to make their own arrangements.

The concerns are not aimed at firefighters, police officers or emergency workers, who often respond under dangerous conditions. Rather, advocates say the issue is whether emergency systems are built to include people who cannot self-evacuate.

California has emphasized aging in place, disability rights and health equity, but emergency planning must reflect those commitments, advocates say. When officials tell the public to leave, they argue, there must also be a clear plan for those who cannot leave without help.

The Garden Grove chemical emergency has therefore become about more than the contents of a leaking tank. It has also become a test of whether disaster planning in Southern California protects residents who are elderly, disabled, homebound or medically fragile.

Original source: CalMatters

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Registrars of voters’ offices in Orange and Riverside counties were evacuated Friday evening after receiving bomb threats, but no explosives were located at either site, authorities said.

All staff and members of the public at the Orange County Registrar of Voters were evacuated from the Santa Ana office 15 minutes before the facility was scheduled to stop processing ballots, officials said in a statement. Orange County sheriff’s deputies were already on site and coordinated evacuating the building at 1300 S. Grand Ave.

Bomb detection dogs were used to search the entire building, and no explosives were found.

“The Orange County Registrar of Voters is committed to ensuring equal access to the election process, protecting the integrity of votes, and maintaining a transparent, accurate and fair election system,” Registrar of Voters Bob Page said in a statement. “We are working diligently to address this incident and keep all staff and members of the public who visit our office safe.”

A similar unfounded threat was also received by the Riverside County Registrar of Voters on Friday evening at its office in Riverside.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department was immediately notified, and members of the public and staff were evacuated from the site at 2720 Gateway Drive within five minutes. Sheriff’s deputies and bomb squad members conducted a thorough search and found no explosives, according to the registrar.

“The county of Riverside Registrar of Voters remains committed to the safety of the public and our staff,” officials said in a statement. “We continue to prioritize transparency and encourage the public to observe all processes as we ensure a fair, accurate and transparent election.”

On election day, fake bomb threats were made at dozens of polling locations in swing states such as Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan and Arizona, but none were found to be credible.

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Northwest of Los Angeles, the Mountain Fire exploded in size and prompted evacuation orders for more than 10,000 people as it threatened 3,500 structures in suburban communities, ranches and agricultural areas around Camarillo, according to a statement from Gov. Gavin Newsom. He said he has requested federal assistance for the area east of the Pacific coast city of Ventura.

The blaze was burning in a region that has seen some of California’s most destructive fires over the years. A thick plume of smoke rose hundreds of feet into the sky Wednesday, blanketing whole neighborhoods and limiting visibility for firefighters and evacuees. The fire grew from less than half of a square mile to 16 square miles (62 square kilometers) in little more than five hours.

Ventura County Fire Captain Trevor Johnson described crews racing with their engines to homes threatened by the flames to save lives.

“This is as intense as it gets. The hair on the back of the firefighters’ neck I’m sure was standing up,” he said during a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

Two people suffered apparent smoke inhalation and were taken to hospitals, fire officials said. No firefighters reported significant injuries.

The erratic winds and limited visibility grounded fixed-wing aircraft, and gusts topped 61 mph (98 kph), said weather service meteorologist Bryan Lewis. Water-dropping helicopters were still flying.

First responders pleaded with residents to evacuate. Deputies made contact with 14,000 people to urge them to leave as embers spread up to 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) away and sparked new flames.

“This fire is moving dangerously fast,” Ventura County Fire Chief Dustin Gardner said.

Aerial footage from local television networks showed dozens of homes in flames across several neighborhoods as embers were whipped from home to home. Other footage captured horses trotting alongside evacuating vehicles.

Jade Katz, who said she is disabled and does not drive, waited for a friend to pick her up near her Camarillo Heights home with a suitcase full of medication and Bella, her Great Dane service dog. But the friend couldn’t reach her, so first responders sent a squad car to escort her to safety as she watched the neighborhood burn.

Officials said they were using all resources, including water-dropping helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft dropping fire retardant, but it was still burning out of control Wednesday afternoon. Andrew Dowd, a Ventura County fire spokesperson, said he did not have details of how many structures had been damaged.

Gus Garcia, who owns a ranch south of the fire, said he’s waiting to see whether conditions will change to decide if he should evacuate his horses and cattle. Around 12:30 p.m., his animals were still safe and he was trying to stay out of the way as others got their livestock out.

His ranch is surrounded by others with horses and alpaca, and Garcia said his neighbors in the canyon did not seem panicked.

“The horse community, they prepare for this because it’s always a possibility up here,” he said.

Meanwhile to the south, Los Angeles County Fire Department crews scrambled to contain a wildfire near Malibu’s Broad Beach as authorities briefly shut down the Pacific Coast Highway as flames burned near multimillion-dollar properties. Residents were urged to shelter in place while aircraft dropped water on the 50-acre (20-hectare) Broad Fire. It was 15% contained around 12:30 p.m. with forward progress stopped. Fire officials said two structures burned.

The National Weather Service office for the Los Angeles area amended its red flag warning for increased fire danger with a rare “particularly dangerous situation” label, and officials in several counties urged residents to be on watch for fast-spreading blazes, power outages and downed trees amid the latest round of notorious Santa Ana winds.

With predicted gusts between 50 mph (80 kph) and 100 mph (160 kph) and humidity levels as low as 8%, parts of Southern California could experience conditions ripe for “extreme and life-threatening” fire behavior into Thursday, the weather service said.

Forecasters also issued red flag warnings until Thursday from California’s central coast through the San Francisco Bay Area and into counties to the north, where strong winds were also expected.

Utilities in California began powering down equipment during high winds and extreme fire danger after a series of massive and deadly wildfires in recent years were sparked by electrical lines and other infrastructure. On Wednesday, more than 65,000 customers in Southern California were without power preventatively, and upwards of 20,000 in Northern California.

Wednesday’s fires were burning in the same areas of other recent destructive fires, including the 2018 Woolsey Fire, which killed three people and destroyed 1,600 homes near Los Angeles, and the the 2017 Thomas Fire, which destroyed more than a thousand homes and other structures in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. Southern California Edison has paid tens of millions of dollars to settle claims after its equipment was blamed for both blazes.

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The fire was burning in Decker Canyon, not far from El Cariso Village, Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Division Chief Todd Hopkins said during the 4 p.m. news event.

With the fire’s highway crossing, areas along Southwest Riverside County’s western edges are at greater risk. At approximately 4 p.m. Tuesday, officials announced updated evacuation orders for the area.

Nearly all Airport Fire evacuation orders are in Riverside County. See an evacuation map here. Also, Cal Fire has an online tool that lets residents and business owners quickly determine the evacuation status for their street address. Find the tool here.

During the news conference, officials said the Airport Fire has burned over 10,000 acres with zero containment. Read more about the Airport Fire here.

Cleveland National Forest Fire Chief Talbot Hayes confirmed the fire is being fueled by hot weather, “barely hikeable” steep terrain, and dry fuel.

The blaze is being attacked by ground and air. Conditions permitting, aircraft will fly after dark, according to the officials.

Fires that burn above Lake Elsinore in the Cleveland National Forest are a particular challenge due to what is called the “Elsinore Effect.” The phenomenon caused by the steep mountains and hostile weather patterns can cause extremely erratic fire behavior, according to Hopkins.

During the 1959 Decker Fire, the Elsinore Effect was not well understood. Andrew “Rusty” Brooks, Boyd Edwards, John Guthrie, Nelson Harlan, Stephen Johnson, and Durward “Ben” Slater lost their lives battling the blaze.

The Airport Fire forced the closure Tuesday of state Route 74 (Ortega Highway) in both directions between Grand Avenue in Lake Elsinore and the Quest Diagnostics Nichols Institute entrance in unincorporated San Juan Capistrano. Read more here.

While a count on lost structures due to the Airport Fire was not available during the news conference, Hayes said Cleveland National Forest cabins were likely damaged. Assessments were underway, according to the chief.

Officials said that communications towers on Santiago Peak were still functioning Tuesday. Social media photos have shown the towers in a backdrop of flames, but air personnel made additional fire-retardant runs on the peak to prevent damage to the crucial equipment, according to officials.

Officials again stressed that firefighting efforts across Southern California are hampered by the sheer magnitude of the current blazes. In addition to the Airport Fire, the Line Fire in San Bernardino County and the Bridge Fire in Los Angeles County are burning. Read more about those fires here. Together, more than 70,000 acres are currently on fire in the region.

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AP Briefs

Remaining evacuations orders for a Southern California neighborhood were lifted Saturday after authorities cooled down a railroad tank car filled with an overheated chemical they had feared could explode.

No injuries were reported in the situation that began Thursday night in Riverside County, east of Los Angeles, when a tank car filled with styrene emitted a plume and authorities discovered the substance was very hot and building pressure.

Adjacent Interstate 215 was shut down and authorities issued evacuation orders for a half-mile radius (0.8 kilometer), including 170 residences as well as businesses.

The temperature of the styrene, used to make foam products, reached 323 degrees (161.1 Celsius) before beginning to trend downward early Friday.

But the tanker was still considered too dangerous to approach so drones were used to monitor it, according to officials of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection / Riverside County Fire Department.

Authorities waited until night when the sun’s heat was no longer coming down on the tank car, fire official Mark Scoville told KTLA-TV Saturday morning.

“We were able to get people in to do an inspection of the tank which then gave us the OK to go ahead and start cooling,” he said.

The tank has heating coils that were effectively reversed to become cooling coils.

The interstate was reopened and evacuations on the east side of the freeway were lifted just before midnight Friday. Evacuations were lifted on the west side Saturday morning.

Authorities believe the heating reaction began after a stabilizing chemical in the tank broke down over time.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that as many as 1,500 Americans may be awaiting evacuation from Afghanistan, a figure that suggests this part of the U.S.-led airlift could be completed before President Joe Biden’s Tuesday deadline. Untold thousands of at-risk Afghans, however, are struggling to get into the Kabul airport.

Blinken said the State Department estimates there were about 6,000 Americans who wanted to leave Afghanistan when the airlift began Aug. 14, and that about 4,500 of them have been evacuated so far. The 6,000 figure is the first public estimate by the State Department of how many Americans were seeking to get out when the Taliban completed its takeover of Afghanistan.

“Some are understandably very scared,” Blinken told a State Department news conference.

About 500 Americans have been contacted with instructions on when and how to get to the chaotic Kabul airport to catch evacuation flights.

In addition, 1,000 or perhaps fewer are being contacted to determine whether they still want to leave. Blinken said some of these may already have left the country, some may want to remain and some may not actually be American citizens.

Of the 1,000, the number who are “actively seeking assistance” to leave Afghanistan “is lower — likely significantly lower,” Blinken said.

The Biden administration has stressed that American evacuees are its first priority, even as it attempts also to airlift Afghans who worked for the U.S. government or military or to build Afghan civil society during the 20-year war as well as what it calls “vulnerable Afghans” — those who believe they face retribution from the Taliban for their role in opposing the insurgency.

The Tuesday deadline aside, Blinken said, “There is no deadline on our work to help any remaining American citizens who decide they want to leave to do so, along with the many Afghans who have stood by us over these many years, and want to leave, and have been unable to do so. That effort will continue, every day, past August 31.”

Biden said Tuesday he has asked his national security team for contingency plans in case he decides to extend the deadline.

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul has been evacuated; staff are operating from the Kabul airport and are to leave by Aug. 31.

However, refugee groups are describing a different picture when it comes to many Afghans: a disorganized, barely-there U.S. evacuation effort for Afghan allies that leaves the most desperate to risk beatings and death at Taliban checkpoints

Some Afghans are reported being turned away from the Kabul airport by American forces controlling the gates, despite having approval for flights.

“It’s 100% up to the Afghans to take these risks and try to fight their way out,” said Sunil Varghese, policy director with the International Refugee Assistance Project. “Those with young children and pregnant are willing to take those beatings to get out.”

His group is one of several working with the U.S. government, and communicating with clients and colleagues on the ground, to get out those Afghans most in danger from the Taliban. Those include Afghans who formerly worked with Americans, as well as journalists, women’s rights advocates and others.

Just days are left before the U.S. military is to start shutting down its anchoring role in a massive operation that the White House says has evacuated 82,300 Afghans, Americans and other foreigners on a mix of U.S., international and private flights. The withdrawal comes under a 2020 deal negotiated by President Donald Trump with the Taliban.

Taliban leaders who took control of Afghanistan this month say they will not tolerate any extensions to the Tuesday deadline. But Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen tweeted that “people with legal documents” will still be able to fly out via commercial flights after Tuesday.

U.S.-based organizations, speaking on background to discuss sensitive matters, cite accounts from witnesses on the ground as saying some American citizens, and family members of Afghans with green cards, still are having trouble pushing and talking their way into the Kabul airport for flights.

Kirby said the U.S. military will preserve as much airlift capacity at the airport as possible in the coming days, ahead of Tuesday’s deadline. The military will “continue to evacuate needed populations all the way to the end,” he said. He added that in the final days and hours there will have to be a balance in getting out evacuees as well as U.S. troops and their equipment.

Maj. Gen. Hank Taylor, the deputy director of regional operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said U.S. forces had conducted another helicopter mission beyond the perimeter of the airport to pick up people seeking to evacuate.

He said the operation happened in Kabul during the night and that the people were now safely at the airport awaiting an evacuation flight.

Taylor provided no other details, but Germany’s top military commander, Gen. Eberhard Zorn, said separately that 21 German citizens had been extracted by the U.S. helicopter. He said the helicopter crew was American and that German troops picked up the evacuees.

In White House news conferences and remarks during the airlift, Biden has offered varying degrees of commitment to getting former Afghan translators and others most at risk from the Taliban included in the airlift.

U.S. military and diplomatic officials appear to still be compiling a list of eligible Afghans but have yet to disclose how — and how many — they may be getting out, private Americans and American organizations said.

“We still have 1,200 Afghans with visas that are outside the airport and haven’t got in,” said James Miervaldis with No One Left Behind, one of dozens of veterans groups working to get out Afghans who worked with the U.S. military during America’s nearly 20 years of combat there. “We’re waiting to hear from the US. government and haven’t heard yet.”

Marina LeGree of Ascend, a U.S.-based nonprofit that worked to develop fitness and leadership in Afghan girls and young women, described getting calls from U.S. officials telling the group’s interns and staffers to go to the airport for evacuation flights, only to be turned away by American forces keeping gates closed against the throngs outside.

One Afghan intern who went to the airport with her family saw a person killed in front of them, and a female colleague was burned by a caustic agent fired at the crowd, LeGree said.

“It’s heartbreaking to see my government fail so badly,” said LeGree, the group’s American director, who is in Italy but in close contact with those in Kabul.

The number of U.S. troops at the airport has dropped by about 400, to 5,400, but the final withdrawal has not begun, Kirby said Wednesday.

He said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will consult directly with Gen. Frank McKenzie, the head of Central Command and overseer of the evacuation operation, before McKenzie moves ahead with the final withdrawal.

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BLY, Ore. (AP) — Firefighters in Oregon reported good progress in the battle against the nation’s largest wildfire, while authorities canceled evacuation orders near a major blaze in Northern California and another on Hawaii’s Big Island.

Containment of the Bootleg Fire in remote southern Oregon was up to 84% late Sunday. It was 56% contained a day earlier.

“That reflects several good days of work on the ground where crews have been able to reinforce and build additional containment lines,” fire spokesman Al Nash said.

The blaze has scorched over 646 square miles (1,673 square kilometers) since being sparked by lightning July 6 in the Fremont-Winema National Forest.

California’s Dixie Fire covered nearly 388 square miles (1,005 square kilometers) in mountains where 42 homes and other buildings have been destroyed.

The fire was 33% contained Sunday evening, and evacuation orders and warnings had earlier been lifted for several areas of Butte and Plumas counties.

The cause of the blaze was still under investigation.

Authorities warned that with unpredictable winds and extremely dry fuels, the risk of flare-ups remained high.

In recent days, lightning sparked two wildfires that threatened remote homes in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. Evacuation warnings remained in place Sunday for communities along the Trinity River.

In Montana, a wind-driven wildfire destroyed more than a dozen homes, outbuildings and other structures, authorities said Sunday. Evacuations were ordered after flames jumped a highway and moved toward communities near Flathead Lake in the northwestern part of the state.

Crews also battled major blazes in northeast Washington and northern Idaho.

Nearly 22,000 firefighters and support personnel were battling 91 large, active wildfires covering 2,813 square miles (7,285 square kilometers) in mostly western states, the National Interagency Fire Center said.

A historic drought and recent heat waves tied to climate change have made wildfires harder to fight in the American West. Scientists say climate change has made the region much warmer and drier in the past 30 years and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.

The U.S. Drought Monitor reported last week that while a robust monsoon has delivered drought-easing rainfall to the Southwest, critically dry conditions persist across Northern California and the Northwest, where there has been an expansion of “exceptional drought,” the worst category.

Dry conditions and powerful winds made for dangerous fire conditions in Hawaii. A wind advisory was issued Sunday for portions of Lanai, Maui and the Big Island.

A fast-moving wildfire on Hawaii’s Big Island grew to 62.5 square miles (101 square kilometers), prompting mandatory evacuation orders. Those orders — which forced thousands of residents out of their homes — were lifted Sunday evening. However, authorities told residents to remain alert.

“County officials ask all residents of the affected areas to only return home if absolutely necessary,” Hawaii County spokesperson Cyrus Johnasen said in a statement. “Smoke and other conditions may make returns unsafe for those with prior and underlying respiratory conditions.”

Local media reported at least two homes had been destroyed. Two community shelters were open for residents who weren’t able to return home, the Hawaii Red Cross said.

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The largest of the fires, the lightning-sparked Lava fire in Siskiyou County, forced the evacuation of at least 8,000 residents Monday afternoon as gusty red flag conditions fueled the searing flames.

By Tuesday morning, the fire had expanded nearly tenfold, to 13,300 acres, and was 20% contained, Shasta-Trinity National Forest officials said.

“The fire made significant runs yesterday,” said Michelle Carbonaro, a spokeswoman for the fire’s unified command team, noting that the northern border saw the most growth Monday.

More than 470 personnel are now battling the blaze from the air and the ground, she said, with crews working in 24-hour shifts.

Footage captured by OnScene.TV near Highway 97 in Weed showed firefighters working deep into the night while nearby brush and trees cracked and sizzled in the flames.

Evacuation orders for the Lake Shastina and Juniper Valley areas issued by the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office remained in effect Tuesday morning. Carbonaro said crews were prioritizing the southern and western edges of the fire, which are closest to the communities.

Officials have also closed Highway 97 between Weed and the Juniper Lodge, about a 30-mile stretch. Dangerously hot, dry weather is expected to improve as the week goes on, Carbonaro said, but crews on Tuesday will have to contend with another day of difficult conditions.

“There will be more high heat today,” she said. “The area is under that extreme heat wave of the whole Pacific Northwest.”

Many parts of the Pacific Northwest remain under excessive heat warnings Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.

Meanwhile, crews have gained some control over fires in Kern, San Bernardino and Monterey counties, as well as a brush fire that ignited in Hemet on Monday afternoon.

Two of the fires — the Shell fire in Kern County and the Peak fire in San Bernardino — have been linked to vehicle fires.

The Shell fire began Sunday after a car caught fire on the shoulder of a road, Kern County Fire Department spokesman Andrew Freeborn said. The cause of the vehicle fire remains under investigation.

By Tuesday morning, the Shell fire had neared 2,000 acres but was 65% contained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The Peak fire was also caused by a “single vehicle accident,” San Bernardino National Forest officials announced on Twitter. In that instance, the car fire quickly spread to nearby vegetation.

The fire reached about 35 acres Monday before its progress was stopped around 2 p.m., forest officials said. About an hour later, a vegetation fire ignited in Hemet.

Dubbed the Stowe fire, it grew to 122 acres by 5 p.m. before the spread was stopped, the Riverside County Fire Department said.

The fire damaged several power lines, spurring an outage for as many as 3,000 residents in east Hemet.

Southern California Edison restored power to most residents by 5:30 p.m., officials said.

The Stowe fire was 100% contained by 8 a.m. Tuesday, Cal Fire announced on Twitter.

The cause of that fire has not yet been determined.

The Willow fire in Los Padres National Forest ignited June 18. As of Tuesday morning, it was holding steady at 2,877 acres and 87% containment, U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Lynn Olson said.

Olson said the fire outbreaks will likely be repeated in the months to come.

“We’re anticipating a very busy season, unfortunately,” she said, pleading with the state’s residents to “recreate carefully” and avoid starting campfires or using fireworks where they’re not appropriate.

“Extreme caution is encouraged,” she added.

Hayley Smith | Contributed

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As of Tuesday morning, more than 3,200 acres were ablaze in Monterey and Inyo counties.

The largest of the blazes, the Willow fire in Los Padres National Forest, ignited around 8 p.m. Thursday and had grown to 2,848 acres by Tuesday morning, according to the U.S. Forest Service, with an estimated containment date of July 11.

The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office on Monday issued evacuation orders for residents on Tassajara Road from China Camp campground to the Tassajara Zen Center, as well as multiple evacuation warnings. The orders and warnings remained in effect Tuesday morning.

More than 500 personnel were attacking the blaze from the ground and air, incident spokesman Thanh Nguyen said, but the fire remains at 0% containment. The terrain is very steep with large vegetation, creating difficult conditions for crews.

“Wind, fuel and terrain play a huge bearing on what decisions are made,” Nguyen said, “so that’s a big concern for us.”

A second fire — a blaze in Inyo Creek that has burned 410 acres — was also burning Tuesday. Officials said a firefighter in Solano County was injured battling a 10-acre brush fire in Vallejo on Monday night.

The Inyo Creek fire ignited Friday and was sparked by lightning, according to incident spokeswoman Kirstie Butler.

As in Los Padres, the terrain there is steep and the conditions are challenging, Butler said. More than 25 fire engines are battling the blaze, and helicopters and fixed-wing aircrafts are dropping water and retardant while ground crews work to control the flames.

Mandatory evacuation orders have been issued by the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office for Olivas Ranch, Portal Preserve and all residents on Whitney Portal Road north of Horseshoe Meadows Road.

All of Whitney Portal has also been evacuated, the Sheriff’s Office said, including the Mt. Whitney trailhead, Whitney Portal store and campground, recreation residents, Lone Pine campground and Meysan Lake Trail. An opportunity for vehicle retrieval has been canceled amid unsafe conditions.

In Vallejo, residents were evacuated Monday when a wind-whipped brush fire grew to 10 acres and spread through a residential neighborhood, the Vallejo Firefighters Assn. said. The blaze caused property damage, but no structures were destroyed.

One firefighter was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, officials said. Neighbors told KTVU that they believed illegal fireworks sparked the blaze.

Residents on Del Sur Street south of Pueblo Way, as well as Swanzy Court and Clearpointe Drive were under mandatory evacuation orders, according to emergency notification system Alert Solano. The orders were lifted shortly after 11 p.m.

Nguyen, with the Willow fire management team, said large wildfires at this time of year can happen but aren’t common. The state’s hot, dry conditions are partially to blame.

“We faced a pretty dry winter season, and as everybody knows in California, we’re in a drought state,” he said. “We’re seeing more fires and more acres burned compared to previous years for this time of year. We’re starting to face conditions that we normally see later on in the summer.”

Hayley Smith | Contributed

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — An arson suspect was arrested in connection with a Los Angeles wildfire that forced evacuations in canyons where thick vegetation hasn’t burned in more than 60 years, authorities said Monday.

The man detained Sunday near the fire zone was being treated for smoke inhalation, said Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Ralph Terrazas. He did not identify the suspect or offer details about the investigation.

“We feel we have the right person,” Terrazas said at a news conference.

There was zero containment of the wildfire near Topanga State Park, but crews slowed its growth aided by cool, moist weather. By Monday, flames had charred just over 2 square miles (5.4 square kilometers) of trees and heavy brush.

No buildings were damaged and no injuries reported in the blaze that broke out late Friday in the Santa Monica Mountains. It grew rapidly Saturday — forcing about 1,000 Topanga Canyon area residents to flee their homes. Firefighting aircraft made water and retardant drops as flames raced along ridges, sending up a huge plume of smoke and raining ash across surrounding neighborhoods.

Evacuation orders remained in place and the fire was still threatening at least 500 homes, officials said.

An explosive wildfire so early in the year, especially in cool conditions with almost no wind, portends a difficult fire season ahead in a state that has seen very little rainfall, officials said.

“We really have to think about brush fires as a year-long challenge,” Terrazas said.

The cause of the fire in steep, inaccessible terrain had been deemed “suspicious” after officials noticed two ignition points about an hour apart, the Fire Department said.

Arson investigators detained and released one person on Saturday and a second person was questioned and then arrested on Sunday, the department said.

Topanga Canyon is a remote, wooded community with some ranch homes bordering Malibu, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) west of downtown Los Angeles.

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