Bobcat Fire Reaches 11,456 Acres After Showing Little Overnight Growth

The Bobcat Fire burning in the Angeles National Forest north of the San Gabriel Valley has grown to 11,456 acres in size on Wednesday, showing only slight overnight growth as anticipated Santa Ana wind conditions authorities had warned could push the flames toward communities failed to materialize, officials said.

After more than doubling in size on Tuesday, from 4,871 acres to 10,344 acres, the wildfire’s footprint expanded by just over 10 percent as of Wednesday morning, according to the U.S. Forest Service. It remained 0% contained.

“So far so good,” Pasadena spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said, crediting calmer-than-expected winds. “But still need residents to be prepared in case winds shift or fire behavior becomes more erratic.”

The foothill neighborhoods of Pasadena, Monrovia, Arcadia, Sierra Madre, Bradbury, Altadena, Duarte were under “evacuation warning,” indicating residents should be prepared for possible evacuation orders in the near future, should they become necessary, according to L.A. County and U.S. Forest Service officials.

“Residents should have evacuation plans in place, organize their emergency evacuation supplies, and have essential evacuation personal belongings easily accessible,” incident commanders said in a written statement. “Vehicles should be fully fueled, facing out in their driveways and ready to leave. Please make those arrangements now.”

If evacuation orders are enacted, it’s vital that residents heed them quickly, the statement added. “Delaying these preparedness actions will prevent fire crews from suppression activities and compromise the safety of the public and first responders.”

Officials in Sierra Madre and Arcadia issued voluntary evacuation orders for foothill residents as a precaution, but no mandatory evacuation orders were in effect Wednesday.

Affected residents in the voluntary evacuation area may want to consider relocating to temporary living arrangements if possible,” according to the statement from incident commanders.

The wildfire was primarily being fueled by old-growth chaparral and working its way through “Steep rugged terrain consisting of parallel ridges and drainage,” the U.S. Forest Service said in a written statement.

“Fuels are extremely dry,” the statement said. “Other than the Ranch 2 and Fish fires, which burned to the east of the fire, there is little to no fire history on record in the immediate area.”

The weather was shifting in favor of firefighters on Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.

Previously predicted Santa Ana winds “are not as strong as predicted & latest trends are down,” the NWS said via Twitter. 

Some gusts were being observed in the mountains, but primarily in a northeast direction, away from the foothills.

As on Tuesday night, fire officials said the priority on Wednesday night would be to work to build containment along the south end of the fire, between the flames and neighborhoods, before predicted overnight Santa Ana winds kicked in.

About 400 firefighters were assigned to the Bobcat Fire on Wednesday, officials said. The cause remained under investigation.