2nd fire erupts in Angeles National Forest

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- A second fire broke out Wednesday in Angeles National Forest, where a blaze now in its second day spread farther across the area, Los Angeles firefighters said.

The new fire, which broke out around 3:30 p.m. PDT, had burned at least 10 acres of dry chaparral north of the Angeles Ranger Station, the U.S. Forest Service said. Forest Service spokeswoman Rachel Mailo said air support has been ordered to help firefighters on the ground, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The fire is west of the Morris fire, which was described as fast-moving Wednesday as it expanded to 750 acres in the mountains north of Los Angeles. Smoke filled the skies over the Los Angeles Basin Wednesday as the Morris fire burned brush on steep terrain, the Times said.

A resort area was evacuated, and a nearby horse ranch was under voluntary evacuation orders as the wildfire in the Angeles National Forest burned out of control Wednesday, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The privately owned Rainbow Ranch is an equestrian facility next to the forest, the Times said. Fewer than 100 people have been evacuated from the two locations, Bruce Quintelier of the U.S. Forest Service said.

The cause of the fire, which began Tuesday and was only 10 percent contained, was under investigation.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department has beefed up hillside-area fire units, as weather officials forecast temperatures in the triple digits in the valleys Wednesday.

Campgrounds in the Angeles National Forest were evacuated Tuesday after a brush fire broke out near the Morris Dam north of Azusa in late afternoon. About 18 Boy Scouts were airlifted out of the area Tuesday night by a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department helicopter, authorities told the Times.