A mountain wildfire has forced the mandatory evacuation of 400 houses in northeastern Los Angeles, authorities said on Sunday.
The fire, which broke out in a popular hiking area on Saturday, has grown to between 140-160 hectares, according to authorities.
The fire stranded a wedding party of 50 people at a wilderness ranger station about 4 kilometers above the fire, but the people were not in immediate danger, according to the latest briefing by the Los Angeles Fire Department.
No homes were damaged, though a small outbuilding used for storing firefighting equipment was destroyed, said Elisa Weaver of the fire department.
Weaver said more than 400 firefighters were attacking the fire, aided by two helicopters with two water-dropping air tankers on the way. The fire was 5 percent contained and was expected to burn for another two or three days.
"This is pretty serious," Weaver said. "Some of these areas have not burned in over 40 years."
Weaver said winds were calm early Sunday, boosting firefighter efforts.
The cause of the blaze remained under investigation. But investigators indicated that the cause might be man-made.
Source:Xinhua
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