HESPERIA, Calif. – A small brushfire erupted into a large blaze, burning 1,400 acres and prompting the evacuation for several hours of 200 homes in this high desert city east of Los Angeles.
Authorities ordered the mandatory evacuations while the fire was growing early Saturday evening, but by 10 p.m. evacuation orders for all but about 30 houses were lifted and families were allowed to return.
The fire had burned a shed and the roof of a house as about 400 firefighters and a pair of water-dropping helicopters worked to keep other homes and outlaying structures from being consumed, said San Bernardino County Fire spokeswoman Angie Samayoa.
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The blaze burned out of control for much of the day, but firefighters began gaining the upperhand after nightfall. The fire was 5 percent contained, and full containment was predicted by Sunday night, Samayoa said.
Hesperia, with about 82,000 residents, is about 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles.
On Friday, a fire in Los Angeles allegedly ignited by two teens sent smoke seeping into the Warner Bros. studios and towering high in the sky behind the famous Hollywood sign before losing intensity.
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