Santa Clarita, Sand Brush Fire 2016 latest news, maps: Residents allowed to return home
Just this weekend, the mountains of Santa Clarita Valley was lit up with the deadly blaze. It began Friday afternoon along the Sand Canyon Road and destroyed everything in its path as it made its way to hillsides.
"It has averaged about 10,000 acres per day," incident commander Chief Mike Wakoski to NBC Los Angeles. "An acre is a football field, so imagine that – 10,000 football fields per day," he continued.
The destruction worsened as what the world came to know as the Sand Brush Fire grew larger due to shifting winds. It did not take long before the flames reached the neighborhoods.
As of yesterday, 18 structures were charred by the fire while around 20,000 people were evacuated, according to San Bernardino National Forest engine captain Justin Correll. A total of 2,964 firefighters were asked to rush to the scene.
The Sand Brush Fire ate up 35,155 acres of the area. As of this writing, it was reported that one man fell victim into the fire with his torched body found inside a burned vehicle.
"This fire, what we've seen in 72 hours, is almost unprecedented," Los Angeles County Fire Department Battalion Chief Dennis Cross told NBC Los Angeles.
"We'd have to go back a long way to compare a fire to this. And, we're not through with this thing yet," he went on to say about the Sand Brush Fire.
As of Monday, July 25, 10 percent of the fire has been contained. The thousands who have been evacuated were allowed to return to their homes, should their houses have survived the blaze.
Wild animals were also rescued from the scene and many of them including bobcats, mountain lions and coyotes have been allowed to return as well.
The Sand Brush Fire started Sunday and is believed to have been triggered when the 100-degree temperatures and drought took its toll on the area following unexpected winds.
At the moment, the cause of the blaze is still being investigated.
