Fast-moving wildfire erupts near California's Angeles National Forest‬

TUJUNGA , Calif., Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Fire crews were battling a fast-forming fire on the edge of the Angeles National Forest, the Los Angeles Fire Department said Monday.

The fire, dubbed the Marek Fire, started at 5:41 a.m. in about a quarter of an acre in Tujunga Canyons, about 35 miles north of Los Angeles International Airport. It grew a few hours later to 25 acres and was moving southeast through drought-parched grass and brush, according to InciWeb, the national incident information system for wildfires. It was considered 50 percent contained.

Structures in the Kagel Canyon were threatened by the fire, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Precautionary evacuations were ordered for residents above the fire site and nearby Wildlife Waystation, according to the Angeles National Service spokesman Nathan Judy.

County and U.S. Forest Service helicopters dropped water on the flames, officials said.

Judy said the fire was easier to fight because it was early in the morning and there was some moisture in the air.

"If it were to come later on in the day time as the heat rises and the temperatures go up, we would've had a challenge with this fire," he told KPCC-FM.