SANTA CLARITA, Calif., May 12 (UPI) -- More than 1,000 firefighters toiled in the hot, dry hills north of Los Angeles Sunday as a stubborn wildfire continued to burn out of control for a second day.
The Bouquet Fire in the Angeles National Forest was up to 4,000 acres by late Sunday afternoon and was only 25 percent contained despite the efforts of fire crews on the ground and overhead in helicopters and air tankers.
The cause of the fire that began Saturday was still under investigation.
More than 100 homes and vacation cabins remained evacuated as fire crews attempted to stay ahead of the flames that were whipping through trees and brush already tinder dry after a dry winter that already has the region under extreme drought conditions.
Fire conditions in the forest were listed as extreme with another day of single-digit humidity and winds up to 20 miles per hour along the ridge tops predicted for Monday afternoon.
Temperatures that tipped 90 degrees in Los Angeles Sunday were expected to moderate Monday and Tuesday, but the potential for fire throughout Southern California remains at levels usually seen during the dog days of late summer.
"All of the areas in the Southern California geographic area indicate above-average fire potential for this time of year," the U.S. Forest Service said in its latest fire outlook. "Dead fuel moisture levels, precipitation anomalies, and drought indices all indicate fire-danger levels nearing record-high levels for this time of year."
Very high and extreme fire dangers were also being reported in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada, although no major fires were reported burning late Sunday.
