FF Killed in CA Wildfire Sparked by Gender-Reveal Pyrotechnic
By Hayley Smith and James Queally
Source Los Angeles Times
A firefighter was killed battling the El Dorado Fire in San Bernardino County, which has burned nearly 20,000 acres.
Few details were immediately available about the death.
"The name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin. Our deepest sympathies are with the family, friends and fellow firefighters during this time," the U.S. Forest Service said in a statement released Friday.
The fire broke out Sept. 7 near Yucaipa. Officials said it was caused by a smoke-emitting pyrotechnic device that was part of a gender-reveal party in a park. Such devices typically shoot off blue or pink smoke to signal the gender of an expected child.
The cause of the death is under investigation.
Meanwhile in L.A. County, the Bobcat fire opened a new dangerous front as it barreled toward homes in the Antelope Valley on Thursday, prompting new evacuations and further straining exhausted firefighters.
For 12 days, the fire has menaced the San Gabriel Mountains, including foothill neighborhoods in Monrovia, Arcadia and other cities, as well as the Mt. Wilson Observatory, where a team of firefighters is standing guard to protect the historic structures.
But Thursday, officials issued evacuation orders for areas toward the fire's northern boundaries after the blaze jumped Highway 2 in the Angeles National Forest, fueled by canyon winds, officials said.
Evacuation warnings were issued Thursday evening on a different side of the fire for Wrightwood and Pinon Hills in San Bernardino County.
As of Thursday night, the fire had grown to about 55,000 acres, with containment at 9% — mostly along the southern and eastern edges of the blaze.
Residents in parts of the Antelope Valley were ordered to evacuate as the fire moved toward Juniper Hills and burned downhill toward Devil's Punchbowl county park, officials said Thursday.
About 60 deputies have been dispatched to the area, along with some California Highway Patrol officers, to help with evacuations, said Capt. Andy Berg of the Sheriff's Department's San Dimas station.
The Bobcat fire, which started Sept. 6, has grown steadily in multiple directions. Officials say the spread is caused by a combination of bone-dry vegetation and rugged topography that makes it hard to fight the fire.
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