LOS ANGELES, June 18 (AP): Firefighters have increased their containment of a large wildfire that is burning in steep, hard-to-reach areas and threatening critical infrastructure in mountains north of Los Angeles, officials said. But hot, dry, windy weather could challenge their efforts Tuesday.
The Post Fire was 20% contained Monday night after wind caused explosive growth over the weekend along Interstate 5, the main north-south route on the West Coast.
"Fire weather conditions are making it difficult to control the fire,” the Los Angeles County Fire Department said in a Monday night update. "Important structures like power lines, dams, and oil pipelines are at risk.”
Strong winds from the north mean the fire is expected to keep moving south, the department said. High temperatures and low humidity were forecast for Tuesday. Wind gusts could reach 55 mph (88 kph).
Officials had earlier warned residents of Castaic, home to about 19,000 people, that they should prepare to leave if the fire pushed south.
The fire scorched more than 24 square miles (61 square kilometers) and forced the evacuation Saturday of at least 1,200 campers, off-roaders and hikers from the Hungry Valley recreation area.
The fire erupted Saturday afternoon near I-5 in Gorman. Two structures burned within the evacuated recreation area.
The majority of the more than 1,000 firefighters assigned to the blaze were focused on its southern edge, near popular Pyramid Lake, which was closed as a precaution on Sunday and Monday.