More from Elisa Weaver, Public Information Officer:
The Santa Anita Fire began on Saturday, April 26th at approximately 3:00 pm (1500 hours) on Santa Anita Canyon Road.
It has currently burned over 350 acres of wildland urban interface. The only structure damaged at this time is a small out building off of Lotus Lane.
The fire is 5% contained and we are looking at 2-3 days for full containment. Approximately 200 homes have been evacuated and we anticipate new evacuations north of Carter west to Lima Street.
The American Red Cross has opened shelters at the Hart Park House, 222 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. and the Congregational Church 170 W. Sierra Madre Blvd in Sierra Madre.
The Sierra Madre City Council held an emergency meeting at 12:10 a.m. this morning to declare the City in a state of emergency.
Air support began again this morning at approximately 6:30 am. We anticipate having 2 helicopters, 3 air tankers, and over 400 firefighters on the ground.
The difficulty of this fire is the terrain which is steep and difficult to access. Additionally, some of these areas have not burned in over 40 years. So far, the weather has been on our side, and although there will intense heat today, we expect fairly low humidity.
We are asking residents and visitors to stay off the streets, keep areas clear for fire department access and to stay attentive. Immediate updates can be found on cityofsierramadre.com and SMTV3, channel 3 on Time Warner.
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