Here is the latest official press release from the city:
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 under 400 acres of wildland urban interface. The only structure damaged at this time is a small out building off of Lotus Lane.
Two firefightesr have been injured, one was stung by a bee yesterday afternoon; the other strained his knee working in the steep terrain.
The fire is 5% contained and we are looking at 4-5 days for full containment.
Approximately 1000 people have been evacuated from Oak Crest Drive across Carter Avenue to East Mira Monte Avenue, continuing down Mountain Trail Avenue, across Grandview Avenue to Santa Anita Avenue.
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.
We have new reports of a wedding party of approximately 50 people 3 ½ miles from the Chantry Flats Ranger Station. Fire officials are looking at ground evacuation; otherwise they will be flown out. This wedding party will be out of the Chantry area by noon today. Sierra Madre Search and Rescue will be the lead on this operation coordinating with LA County Sheriffs.
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. There are over 500 logistics and operations people
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.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.