Pasadena Firefighters Deployed to Massive Lake Fire

A strike team of Pasadena firefighters packed up their gear and headed to the north end of Los Angeles County Wednesday night to help battle the explosive Lake Fire, which has destroyed three structures and scorched more than 10,500 acres of brush, officials said.

The team, made up of eight firefighters and a battalion chief, arrived at the scene early Thursday, said city spokeswoman Lisa Derderian. There they joined more than 1,000 personnel who were fighting the fire, which was 0 percent contained Thursday morning, according to the U.S. Forest Service and L.A. County Fire Department officials.

The deployment comes just days after another Pasadena Fire Department strike team returned from assisting with the Apple Fire in Riverside County, Derderian said. That team returned home Friday following a five-day deployment.

The Apple Fire has consumed more than 33,400 acres and was 80 percent contained as of Thursday, according to the USFS. That blaze was responsible for causing three injuries and destroying four homes.

The Lake Fire was first reported shortly after 3:30 p.m. Wednesday near Lake Hughes, according to the L.A. County Fire Department. It destroyed three structures, while more than 5,400 others remained threatened on Thursday. Mandatory evacuation orders were in effect.

Firefighters worked through the night to protect buildings as colleagues dropped water on the flames from helicopters. Near triple-digit temperatures and low relative humidity levels were posing challenges, officials said.

“The fire is actively burning in an area where the fire history is nearly 100 years old,” the L.A. County Fire Department reported in a written statement. “Current objectives include keeping the fire north of Castaic Lake, South of Highway 138, east of Red Rock Mountain, and west of Tule Ridge.”

The cause of the fire was not immediately known.

The Pasadena Fire Department remained fully staffed and was not short-handed as a result of the deployments, Derderian said.

She added that the recent fires were a stark reminder “of what we anticipate for several months to come due to dry vegetation, excessive heat, and topography.”

The Lake Fire was not being pushed by Santa Ana winds, which generally begin whipping through Southern California around October, officials said. 

“Plan now and not when the danger exists,” Derderian said. “Build or update disaster kits, make evacuation and communication plans, and get trained, even if it’s online during COVID-19.”