Official: L.A.-Area Blaze Man-Made

(CBS/AP)  Updated at 11:35 p.m. EDT

Firefighters made more progress Wednesday against a giant wildfire that has ravaged a national forest north of Los Angeles as investigators said the blaze was human-caused and officials began letting more people back into their homes.

Officials are still trying to figure out what set off the blaze in the Angeles National Forest that had burned nearly 219 square miles, or 140,150 acres, by Wednesday.

Deputy incident commander Carlton Joseph would only say that the fire was human-caused, but it's not known specifically how it was started or whether it was accidental or arson.

Over 90 percent of California wildfires are caused by people, reports CBS News correspondent Sandra Hughes in Tujunga, Calif.

Joseph said a human cause could include a range of things from a dropped cigarette to a spark from something like a lawn mower. Joseph says investigators have several leads and notes that lightning has been ruled out as a possible cause.

Wildfire photo essay
Local coverage from CBS station KCBS in Los Angeles

Investigators huddled beneath a partially burnt oak tree Wednesday near the spot where fire started - signs that the probe is actively under way. Pink and yellow tape roped off part of a ravine next to the tree where small red flags were planted.

Firefighters have created a perimeter around 22 percent of the blaze, largely by removing brush with bulldozers and setting controlled burns. Bulldozers still have 95 miles of fire line to build, mostly on the blaze's eastern front near the San Gabriel Wilderness Area.

Hundreds of firefighters guarding foothill communities against the blaze were being sent back to their stations late Wednesday as the threat eases.

Los Angeles County fire Capt. Mark Whaling says 13 strike teams are being released Wednesday. They've been defending homes in La Canada Flintridge, La Crescenta and other communities north of Los Angeles.

About 270 firefighters will leave, along with 65 of the 500 fire engines.

Whaling says it's the first time any teams have been demobilized since the fire began seven days ago.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger visited the fire area Wednesday morning and served breakfast to firefighters, scooping Cream of Wheat into paper bowls and giving them plenty of protein so "they get all pumped up for the next fight out there with those fires."

"The crews are making excellent progress based on the ," U.S. Forest Service incident commander Mike Dietrich said at a Wednesday news conference.

Since erupting Aug. 26, the blaze has destroyed more than five dozen homes, killed two firefighters and forced thousands of people from their homes.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca said only 50 homes in his jurisdiction remained under mandatory evacuation Wednesday, down from 4,000 on Tuesday. He said that about 2,000 homes in the city jurisdiction were under mandatory evacuation orders.

At least 62 homes have been destroyed in a fire that has burned an area the size of Chicago, Hughes reports.

"I was just like, 'Oh my God, thank you so much to the firefighters, like thank you so much for saving my house,'" Lyna Avanessien, an evacuee who returned Wednesday to find her home intact, told Hughes.

Nearby, Mt Wilson, home to critical communication towers, remained under threat, despite yesterday's aggressive air assault. "The whole basin depends on this mountain, from your cell phones to your news transmission and everything in between," firefighter Vince Pena told Hughes.

Firefighters are doing what they can to defend Mt. Wilson before the flames arrive. They have burned away dry brush, but if the blaze reaches the forest canopy, the communication nerve center could explode.

Officials also were keeping a close eye on the wind, which had been calm overnight but could pick up Wednesday afternoon and move flames closer to homes and a historic observatory on Mount Wilson.

In a hillside neighborhood of Glendale, Frank Virgallito stood in a group anxiously watching a controlled burn edge toward their neighborhood.

Virgallito said he and his neighbors had been on high alert since Friday but ignored a voluntary evacuation.

"You don't sleep well," Virgallito said. "I get up every hour and a half or two hours to get a good view of where the fire is. For four days we've been a little sleep-deprived. It's unnerving."

Virgallito said he saw deer, coyote and skunks scampering down his street away from the heat and ash of the smoldering wilderness.

Officials also worried about the threat to a historic observatory and TV, radio and other antennas on Mount Wilson northeast of Los Angeles. But on Tuesday, firefighters set backfires near the facilities before a giant World War II-era seaplane-turned-air tanker made a huge water drop on flames inching toward the peak from the north and west.

By nightfall, 150 firefighters and engines were stationed at the peak to defend the towers, said fire spokesman Paul Lowenthal.

The flames crossed the Angeles Crest Highway into the San Gabriel Wilderness to the east on Tuesday, Lowenthal said. Firefighters made progress on fire breaks to the north near Acton and southwest from Altadena to the Sunland neighborhood.

Firefighters and longtime residents know it could be so much worse. Autumn is the season for the ferocious Santa Ana winds to sweep in from the northeastern deserts, gaining speed through narrow mountain canyons, sapping moisture from vegetation and pushing flames farther out into the suburbs.

"If we had Santa Anas, we still have all this open land here on the western flank and islands of vegetation would throw embers into the air, which would blow down to the homes," Fire spokesman Henry Martinez said, his voice trailing off as he imagined the worst-case scenario. "Let's hope that doesn't happen."

The wildfire season usually doesn't gather steam until the winds hit in October, but the fire has been driven by dryness instead of wind. The region is in the midst of a three-year drought, and the tinder-dry forest is ripe for an explosive fire.

Smoke billowed thousands of feet up in the air, forming what firefighters call an "ice cap," which dissipated and was pushed east for at least 800 miles.

In Colorado, smoke from the Station Fire combined with soot from local fires to block mountain views from Denver.

"That really speaks to the columns of smoke and how much burning was going on," said Norv Larson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction, Colo.

"I've put haze in the forecast. I don't see it ending anytime soon," Larson said. "We've got our fires here, you've got your fires there."

Flames charred other parts of Southern California, including one that burned at least 1.5 square miles in the San Bernardino County community of Oak Glen and another that threatened 400 homes in Yucaipa and was at 70 percent containment.

Lance Williams, 49, managed to save his aunt's home in Delta Flats, a remote community tucked in a canyon in the Angeles National Forest, but returned Tuesday to find his neighbors' homes in ashes.

"It looked like hell," Williams said. "The fire was creating its own winds. There was no way of predicting which way it would go."

He said he used a water pump to fight off the firestorm that raced down hillsides into the canyon. By the time he ran out of water, fire crews had arrived to defend the home that had been in his family since 1945.

Near the remains of house, the charred frames of animal cages swayed in a light wind. In one of the cages, the remains of three small dogs were found.

The fire also took a toll on firefighters who bunk down each night in tents at the huge fire command center. Glendale firefighter-paramedic Jack Hayes, 31, said he had not taken a day off for a week.

"You can't sleep," said Hayes, who had the beginnings of a beard and bloodshot eyes. "You're ready to go and there's always something you could be doing."

Two firefighters - Capt. Tedmund Hall, 47, of San Bernardino and firefighter Specialist Arnaldo "Arnie" Quinones, 35, of Palmdale - were killed Sunday when their vehicle plummeted off a mountain road. Quinones' wife is expecting a child soon, and Hall had a wife and two adult children.

[barbaram99]

The earth is bone dry..There should be a burn ban in place. I have lived in drought areas. Ye could not do certain things. They say human caused. People are careless. To properly butt a cigerette ye drop on the dround rub yer shoe on it to make sure it is out. make sure it is out. A campfire. Put it out properly and make sure it is out.Nature does cause fires. Humans should know better.
John yer right. Well said.

[Oregon_State_OSU]

Whats New.

Wild Fires are very common in California this time of year, its like clock work and I am sure its been happening for 1000s of years. Just like Earth Quakes in the area.

[dmb35]

Last year when there was a fire at Lake Tahoe, some houses survived the fire because the owners had cleared the area around their house (clearing nature is illegal). Those who followed the law and left nature alone, returned to find their houses burned to the ground.

[dmb35]

Congresswoman Linda Sanchez (D-CA) blames the fire on GLOBAL WARMING, even though it was caused by a human. Go figure. Any excuse to further their cause. Cheez.

[Ace22257]

The article states that 90% of California's wildfires are started by humans. You would thiink that people native to the region would be more careful with their personal habits. I wonder what percentage of these fires are intentonally set? I'm amazed that there's anything left to burn out there in Cali......

[lakeshow3x]

There is now a fire safe wood available in California! Homeowners can and should use TimberSIL to protect their homes!!! I rebuilt my wood gate, that was rotting away, just to test it out after I heard about it on KNX 1070. I was impressed.

TimberSIL Glass Wood - woodwontburn.com, watch the fire test video. It is pretty remarkable.

This product is brand new to California, I just found out about it two moths ago.

[wyodutch]

Billy Mays would be proud.

[wyodutch]

Heck... probably one of them terrorists that the government says is hiding behind every tree and bush here in the Fatherland... er, Homeland.
.
Yeah... Probably a couple dozen elderly terrorists in Winnebagos, driving across the country... stopping here and there to ignite some dry brush.

[Solarrays247]

Our homegrown terrorists aren't hiding behind anything. They're in plain sight!

:=)

[John_Merritt]

There sure were alot of fires throughout the West this year. Are all of them man made. Well I do know alot of people have more time on their hands so who knows what they are doing in their spare time? Your right about the sensationalization these networks do. As I said before I believe 1/2 of what I read, and take the rest with a block of salt. Have a good evening.

[SkirtLifter]

Someday a serial firebug will get arrested. He'll have over 100 blazes to his credit. He will be sentenced to 75 years in prison, only to be paroled after serving 7.5 years.

Two years after his release, a string of fires will occur during an especially swift Santa Ana event. Five firefighters and several pets will die. He will be arrested again, and on his property the police will find a trailer full of arsonist wares.

All his neighbors will say, "He was a quiet guy. Kinda weird but he always waved and said hello."

One of his neighbors will have reported the dozen or so 55 Gallon drums on the property, but the police will say everything looked OK. The Sheriff apalogize for the oversight and be thankful the serial pyro is back behind bars.

Hundreds of lives will be affected and millions of dollars wasted on this one criminal.

The arsonist will live with a roof over his head and three meals a day, in prison, and all the while taking college courses in law. He will be good enough to pass the BAR and sue many people. He will have his sentence overturned and move into YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.

to be continued...

[pollroller1]

That's funny. Could be true though.

[Jimmy_The_Kid]

Jeez! Every autumn, the California countryside burns out of control and, every autumn, the media treats it like it's something new and tries to blame it on someone. For God's sake, clear the frickin' brush BEFORE AUTUMN, California. It'd be a lot cheaper in the long run.

[dmb35]

Clearing is against the law - environmentalists rule, you know. Kind of like the law that prevents the California Delta farmers from irrigating their farms because the tiny smelt will get sucked in through the pipes along witn water. Save the guppies; destroy the food.

[jxknowles]

Here's some education Jimmy boy:
- There's way too much brush to clear. There aren't enough people in California to clear it. It would cost a fortune to clear a mini-scule fraction of it.
- Removing vegetation will cause erosion and mudslides when rains finally do come. You'll bury and kill people under mountains of mud by clearing all the brush. It would cost a fortune to clear the mud and blood off your hands.
- This is not a green/tree hugger/environmental issue. It's law of nature to have native vegetation grow and burn every year. Move the people away from the brush. That would be cheaper.

Turn off FOX Noise and the bogus rhetoric on how environmentalists are causing these wildfires. Their 'so-called experts' are a well-known joke without a clue.

Got that Jimmy? Now time for recess.