LA weather in firefighters' favor for now

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- Weather conditions appeared to be slowly shifting Thursday in the favor of more than 2,600 firefighters who have been battling to keep an intense wildfire out of residential areas ringing the base of the mountains east of Los Angeles.

The National Weather Service said Thursday afternoon that a cooling trend would bring higher overnight humidity levels with it while winds would remain relatively light and blowing away from heavily populated areas.

The 31,500-acre Williams fire that has threatened suburban neighborhoods in four Los Angeles County cities east of downtown was 25 percent contained Thursday and was moving slowly to the northeast away from threatened areas of San Dimas, Glendora, Claremont and La Verne.

Although the immediate threat to large numbers of homes eased Thursday, the fire remained a potent blaze fueled by heavy brush in a rugged area that has not seen a major fire since the Eisenhower administration.

"It is getting in to the high country where there is a lot more heavy fuel and old-growth timber that will hold on to the fire a lot longer than the brush does," Los Angeles County Fire Department spokesman Tom McGuire told reporters at the command post on the fringe of the Angeles National Forest.

The fire has burned an estimated 71 structures since it broke out late Sunday. Most of the residences lost were seasonal cabins, although some were occupied year-round. More than half of the 3,190 firefighters assigned to the blaze have spent their time parked in cul-de-sacs and along residential streets waiting to douse any embers that might blow on to the roofs of homes.

An enclave known as Mount Baldy Village was in the most imminent threat Thursday. Most residents had heeded warnings to evacuate, but a few die-hards were hanging in there in hopes they would be able help defend their homes.

"Well, if my house was on fire I would probably leave," resident David Wade told Los Angeles television station KNBC. "I don't have any illusions about saving my home if it starts burning, but I might be able to stop the fire from starting."