232. The Fire in the Hills (1) 

The fire started Saturday afternoon. Fire officials didn’t know how it started, but they suspected arson. listen to weather reports. They get excited when hear that the Los Angeles area is going have Santa Ana winds, which can blow steadily 30 mph and gust to 60 mph.

Planes flame retardant around the southern edge of the to protect houses closest to the foothills. On radio, a reporter said the fire had consumed acres. Fire officials thought that the fire would out within 24 hours, if the Santa Ana didn’t start blowing.

At 10:30 Saturday evening, Adam downtown to see if he could get a view of the fire. He had never seen small town so crowded on a Saturday night. was watching the fire. He got a great with his binoculars. Even though downtown was windless, saw flames that looked like they must have 50 or 60 feet high. The winds had up in the foothills. The red flames stood clearly against the night sky. At 11 p.m., officials announced a mandatory evacuation of about 100 north of Carter Avenue.