Glendora California Wildfire

An out-of-control campfire might have started a 1,700-acre brush fire that destroyed numerous homes as it raced down a hillside and cast wind-blown embers into a foothill community south of Southern California's Angeles National Forest.

 

Three men were arrested in connection with the fire, which forced evacuations involving about 1,000 homes as firefighters on the ground and in the air continue the attack in Glendora, a San Gabriel Valley city located about 30 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles.

The men were booked on suspicion of recklessly starting a fire. They were identified as Clifford Henry, 20, of Glendora; Jonathan Jarrell, 23, of Irwindale; and Steven Aguirre, 21, whose most recent residence is listed as Los Angeles.

 

At least five homes have been destroyed in the fire and 17 other buildings were damaged, officials said. Two firefighters suffered injuried in the blaze and a civilian was also hurt. Embers blown by 30-mph wind gusts into a neighborhood set palm trees ablaze like matchsticks and sparked several small spot fires. (NBC4 Southern California, 1/17/2014)