Smoke Advisory in Effect Saturday As 6% Contained Bobcat Fire Heads South

[UPDATED]  A smoke advisory will be in effect Saturday for Pasadena as the Bobcat Fire in the Angeles National Forest that has blackened 29,245 acres and is only 6% contained continues to burn just above Monrovia.  

The Bobcat Fire, which erupted midday Sunday near the Cogswell Dam and West Fork Day Use area, prompted evacuation warnings in Pasadena and six other San Gabriel Valley foothill communities and was not expected to be fully contained until Oct. 15.

Firefighters worked into the overnight hours to hold the fire just above West Fork on Highway 39 while strengthening containment lines and slowing progress of the fire from moving farther south toward foothill communities, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

“The recent Ranch 2 Fire, Fish Fire and the 2009 Station Fire are helping to slow fire progression, however the Bobcat Fire continues to burn north and east where there is no fire history in the last 80 years and in the San Gabriel Wilderness,” the Forest Service said.

There are 765 personnel assigned to the fire, including 69 engines, 17 handcrews, 5 helicopters, 2 aircrafts, 5 dozers and 5 water tenders.

Through Saturday, smoke and ash are expected in portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside and Orange counties, and unhealthy or higher Air Quality Index levels due to particulate matter concentrations are possible in areas of direct smoke impacts through Saturday, according to the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

The Angeles Crest Highway 2 was closed from Upper Big Tujunga Canyon Road to Big Pines and Highway 39 was closed at Old San Gabriel Canyon Road to the Angeles Crest Highway 2.