Residents displaced in California wildfires return home, firefight ongoing

LOS ANGELES, June 23 (UPI) -- Hundreds of residents in California's San Gabriel Mountains were permitted to return to their homes early Thursday while firefighters continued to fight a massive blaze.

Of the 858 homes evacuated in the cities of Duarte and Azusa, residents of 534 homes were allowed to return. No livestock or large vehicles were allowed to return immediately. Mandatory evacuations remain in effect for other areas threatened by the 4,900-acre wildfire.

The blaze, which was 15 percent contained as of Thursday, began Monday as two -- the Reservoir and Fish fires -- but is now being handled as a single incident called the San Gabriel Complex fire.

More than 1,040 firefighters, aided by cooler temperatures and higher humidity, worked to get control of the fire before scorching temperatures return later this week. The National Weather Service issued a red-flag warning for parts of southern California. High winds and low humidity can help feed fires, forecasters said.

"We're trying to secure as much as possible before the next heat wave comes," Los Angeles County Fire Department Deputy Chief Vince Peña said.