by Timothy Rutt
That's what you're smelling: there's a brushfire in Monrovia, several agencies involved. We're monitoring the scanner. Two firemen down with injuries so far.
City of Monrovia is tweeting (3.20 PM):
Be advised @MonroviaPolice closing streets north of Foothill Blvd, Lincoln to Myrtle to thru traffic. Residents can still get to/from homes
You can follow the reports on Twitter at #monroviafire.
UPDATE: The city of Monrovia has issued the following statement:
The brush fire now covers 150 acres. Mandatory Evacuations have expanded to include the following neighborhoods:
- Crescent
- El Nido
- Highland from Foothill
- Franklin
- Scenic 400-500 blocks
- Cloverleaf, Lotone
- Hidden Valley
- Ridgeside
- Briar Cliff
- Golden Hills
- and everything west of Canyon Park North of Scenic.
There are now 65 fire engines, 6 hand crews, and additional resources responding, and one heat-related injury to a firefighter.
Updated 3:00pm: The Monrovia Police Department is closing the streets north of Foothill Blvd from Lincoln Place to Myrtle Avenue to all thru traffic. Residents will still be able to get to and from their homes.
Updated 2:00pm- At 11:15 a.m. on Saturday, April 20, the Monrovia Fire Department responded to a call of a brush fire in the Monrovia hillside at 322 N Madison Avenue. As of 1:45pm, the fire covers 15 acres and is 10% contained. So far 25 fire engines, three helicopters, and three brush crews have responded. Several Fire agencies including the US Forest Services are cooperating to contain the fire.
At this time, Monrovia Fire Chief Chris Donovan is asking for a manditory evacuation of homes in the following areas:
- Heather Heights
- Alta Vista
- Melrose
- Magnolia
- Hidden Valley
- Mesa Circle
- Skyway
- Patrician Way
Residents will be notified of evacuations through door-to-door efforts by the Monrovia Police Department.
Temporary shelter will be available at the Monrovia Community Center, 119 West Palm Avenue, Monrovia, CA. The Community Center can be reached at (626) 256-8246. Water, food and some activities will be available.
No reported strucutres damage or injuries have been reported. There is some concern about wind patterns picking up around 2 pm. "As long as we don't have the winds, we will be fine, but its not a Santa Ana day. This is very old brush, over 55 years old, and a lot of fuel, but we have crews working very hard to contain the fire," said Monrovia Fire Chief Chris Donovan.
