California governor declares wildfire emergency

LOS ANGELES – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles and Monterey counties as wildfires burn large areas and threaten homes.

The order Friday comes as firefighters battle two blazes in the Angeles National Forest above Los Angeles' northeastern suburbs and mop up the remnants of an overnight fire on the Palos Verdes Peninsula that singed six houses. The fires have forced the evacuation of numerous homes.

In Monterey County, a wildfire near Soledad has reached 5,000 acres, or nearly 8 square miles. About 100 homes are under evacuation orders.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Wildfires threatened hundreds of homes in the seaside hills and foothill canyons near Los Angeles early Friday, feeding on bone-dry brush in the midst of a heat wave expected to drive temperatures into triple digits.

As many as 1,500 people had to leave the wealthy seaside community of Rancho Palos Verdes overnight, while residents of about 870 homes were urged to voluntarily leave La Canada Flintridge, a dozen miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles on the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains.

Water-dropping helicopters worked through the night, as the ominous red glow of flames illuminated the darkness. A lack of wind let the helicopters operate in the canyons, Los Angeles County fire Inspector Steve Zermeno said.

The Rancho Palos Verdes fire erupted late Thursday and spread rapidly. Hundreds of firefighters and their engines were deployed to protect homes in the fire's path.

"The fire was stopped right at the backyards of those homes," said county fire Chief Deputy John Tripp.

Six homes had minor exterior damage, and an outbuilding and a gazebo were destroyed, he said.

Daybreak revealed an ash-covered landscape with no flames apparent. The burn area was officially listed at 100 acres with 35 percent containment, but Tripp said both numbers were expected to significantly rise when mapping was complete.

One end of the fire remained open in an inaccessible area and Tripp said that remained a concern.

"As the heat comes up today, it could cause that fire to come out of there and come back into the neighborhoods," he said. "We are not out of the woods yet."

Fire crews waged a fierce overnight fight to protect expensive homes standing on ridges above finger canyons.

"They were doing battle from the word go. It was a struggle," said fire Capt. Mike Brown. "They were dealing with some treacherous terrain ... the fire moving up canyon and dry brush. They had to make a stand."

The wealthy communities on the Palos Verdes Peninsula south of Los Angeles are in an area known for horse trails, spectacular Pacific Ocean views, pricey real estate and exclusive golf clubs, including the Trump National Golf Club owned by Donald Trump.

The Terranea Resort, a luxury hotel a couple miles from the fire, opened its door to locals who had to evacuate, but only two families had taken advantage of the offer by midnight, said hotel spokeswoman Wendy Haase.

The fire near La Canada Flintridge began to kick up late Thursday afternoon, a day after it began in the Angeles National Forest, and flames moved slowly down the slopes of the San Gabriels. By early Friday it was estimated to cover more than 2 square miles and was about 10 percent contained.

The fire jumped a highway overnight and moved near homes in the Arroyo Seco, said Jennifer Sanchez, a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman.

The arroyo, a miles-long watercourse that runs from the mountains south through neighboring Pasadena, is the location of luxury neighborhoods, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Rose Bowl.

Zermeno said the fire was being fought mainly from the air because the terrain was too steep for firefighters to reach it easily.

Still air meant the fire was growing slowly rather than being pushed, but "we'll see if nature is still on our side" later in the day, Zermeno said.

The National Weather Service predicted a third day of red flag conditions of extreme fire danger for many of California's central and southern mountain ranges because of because of low humidity and triple-digit heat that sapped moisture from grass and brush. However, there were no predictions of significant winds in the fire areas. The notorious Santa Ana winds often associated with the region's worst wildfires don't usually occur until the fall.

The smell of smoke from the forest fire tinged the air in a wide area of Los Angeles, which hit 101 degrees downtown on Thursday.

To the east, another fire in the San Gabriel Mountains was 60 percent contained late Thursday after burning across more than 3 square miles, Sanchez said.

Nearly 1,000 firefighters aided by bulldozers and a fleet of water- and fire retardant-dropping aircraft worked the fire's northeastern edge.

The fire, believed caused by human action began Tuesday near a dam and reservoir in San Gabriel Canyon, a half-dozen miles above the city of Azusa.

Farther north in Monterey County, 100 homes were evacuated about four miles from the community of Soledad. The fire burned more than 2,000 acres of steep grasslands, or more than 3 square miles, since it started Thursday afternoon, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Capt. James Dellamonica said. The blaze has not been contained.

To the west, in the San Bernardino National Forest in Riverside County, another fire had blackened about 1 1/2 square miles by Thursday evening and prompted authorities to issue a voluntary evacuation of 12 homes in the area near Hemet, said Forest Service fire spokeswoman Anabele Cornejo. She said about five people had left and that the fire was 5 percent contained.