Fire near Highway 5 in Gorman threatens structures, forces evacuations

Austin Turner and Vivian Chow

8 hours ago

A rapidly growing brush fire near Highway 5 in Gorman forced evacuation orders Saturday.

The “post-fire” was first reported around 1:48 p.m., according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. By 3 p.m. there were over 500 acres. By 4:30 p.m., the area exceeded 2,000 acres. By 6 p.m., the area reached more than 3,600 acres, and by 8:30 p.m., it exceeded 4,400 acres.

Evacuations are in place near Pyramid Lake, Gorman Post Road, Hungry Valley SVRA Recreation Area and surrounding Grapevine area communities. Authorities said more than 1,200 people had been evacuated.

Highway 5 has reopened, but the Quail Lake and Gorman Post Road on- and off-ramps remain closed. The town of Castaic was placed on “evacuation warning” due to high winds expected from 10 p.m.

The fire was initially reported on the southbound side of Highway 5. Flames then jumped a hill behind a McDonald's restaurant and spread to a nearby auto repair shop, destroying the building and many cars parked in the parking lot.

“It started as a brush fire,” said DC Williams of the California Highway Patrol. “It jumped the road and went over and unfortunately destroyed the auto garage and a few cars in the parking lot. Fortunately, he missed school. The wind is blowing extremely hard, which doesn't help matters at all. Unfortunately, it continues to grow.

Alec Snover works at the gas station across the street from the McDonald's and ran to help evacuate customers inside.

“They were pretty frantic,” Snover said of the customers. “Everyone was shouting, 'Get your car out of here!' » as they pulled out of the parking lot. Some people almost leaned on each other.

Helicopters and planes from several fire departments responded to the scene to drop water and fire retardants on the growing fire.

Around 8 p.m., the fire was zero percent contained. It is not known exactly how the fire started. Authorities have confirmed that several commercial properties are at risk as more than 250 firefighters continue to battle the blaze overnight.

No injuries have been reported so far as authorities have evacuated residents from the area.

“They were evacuating Hungry Valley, which is a big campground, especially around Father's Day weekend. There were a lot of people camping, riding around on their dirt bikes. terrain and their quads, then the state parks are there to get these people out and get them to a place of safety,” Williams said. “If you’re thinking about coming here, you might want to change your plans.”

The CHP said traffic in the area was greatly affected by the fire. Many drivers stopped to take photos and videos of the fire which caused several accidents.

“It's very easy with the light, flashy fuels we have here and these high winds,” said Craig Little of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. “It’s very easy for a small fire to grow at a very rapid rate.”

“Northwest winds are expected to increase this evening through the Post Fire, particularly after 10 p.m., when ridgetop winds could reach more than 60 mph,” the National Weather Service said.

Gorman is a small unincorporated area in northwest Los Angeles County and is a common stop for food and gas along the 5 Freeway.

Evacuation information, including a map of affected areas, can be found here. More information about CAL FIRE can be found here.

This developing story will be updated as more information becomes available.