California: Sesnon fire

Update @ 11:50 p.m. Monday

The Sesnon fire has now burned 5,000 acres. The map below in the 1:33 p.m. update revises automatically with data provided by LA County Fire Department. Local residents can get information about fire-related traffic, evacuations, and shelters by calling a recording provided by the LA Fire Department at 800-439-2909. A Newhall pass weather station at 10:35 p.m. showed SSW winds at 6 mph with gusts up to 22. The RH was 17%. The Santa Ana winds are expected to increase tonight between 11 p.m. and 11 a.m.

Update @ 4:50 p.m. PT Monday

At a news conference that is just now concluding, officials announced:

• The winds tonight after 11:00 p.m. will have gusts exceeding 60 mph.
• The fire is being manged in a Unified Command, with LA City, LA County, and Ventura County.
• There are about 800 firefighters assigned.
• Damage assessment teams are working in the burned areas, but there is no official count on damaged structures yet.
  

Update @ 3:39 p.m. MT Monday

Inspector Ron Haralson of the LA County FD just announced that the Sesnon fire is over 3,000 acres. If needed, and wind permitting, he said some of the helicopters will continue to fight fire after dark tonight.

There was a traffic collision on the 118 freeway today that resulted in a fatality. It may have been related to reduced visibility caused by the smoke. If so, this would be the second fatality caused by this fire bust. The first was the homeless person that died in his cardboard shelter.

At a news conference earlier today, one of the fire chiefs raised the possibility that one of their objectives was to keep the fire from burning all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Holy Crap!

The Santa Ana winds, which have decreased a bit today, but are still too strong for effective air attack, will be their strongest between 11 p.m. tonight and 11 p.m. tomorrow (Tuesday).

Local residents can get information about fire-related traffic, evacuations, and shelters by calling a recording provided by the LA Fire Department at 800-439-2909. Other information about evacuations can be found at the LA County FD web site.

Update @ 2:30 p.m. PT Monday

The Sesnon fire at 3:15 p.m. MT Monday

The Sesnon fire is now over 2,000 acres. The winds have decreased a bit, but are still pretty strong.

A weather update now predicts that the winds will continue through Tuesday night for some areas in southern California and into Wednesday night for other areas..

Update @ 1:33 p.m. PT Monday

Here is a map showing the approximate location of the Sesnon fire in the Porter Ranch area, current as of about 1 p.m. Monday...provided by Los Angeles County Fire Department. This map should update automatically.


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