Fire mushrooms to 105,000 acres

Sheriff’s deputies drove down her street in the middle of the night repeating a mandatory evacuation order to residents who had refused to leave. Minter was one of them.

Although most of her neighbors had left, she opted to stay at home with her husband, an elderly dog and two cats, she said.

“The wind has been a big factor in us deciding to stay,” she said.

Although dry winds have kept flames burning, there have been few gusts to push the fire quickly toward foothill homes, allowing residents to sit and watch the blaze’s slow descent into the Crescenta Valley over the weekend.

Officials have stepped up their calls for residents to heed evacuation orders after three residents in the Big Tujunga area this weekend were burned after they refused to leave their homes, fire officials said. The injured residents were airlifted to local hospitals.

The faint morning breeze Monday did not concern Minter, despite the combustible oak trees on her front lawn.

If flames and embers start moving quickly, then she will be more concerned, she said, but with firefighters succeeding in protecting foothill homes so far, Minter was hesitant to leave.

Other residents were also feeling more calm after noting the success firefighters had been having in holding back the fire line.

La Crescenta resident Grace Kim was trying to make her way back to her home on Rockdell Street, which police had blocked off to through traffic.

Her daughter and son-in-law had stayed at the house, but sent Kim to stay with her cousin in Glendale until the area was more secure.

Officials had not lifted an evacuation order for the area, but Kim’s daughter was confident that the situation was improving and called her to return, she said.

Briggs Terrace resident May Lan was not as confident.

Authorities urged her to leave her home over the weekend as fires moved into her canyon neighborhood from three sides.

She slept in her car and took her dog for a walk early Monday, worried about flames that seemed to be out of control.

“I think only rain can stop it,” she said.

 ZAIN SHAUK covers education, business and politics. He may be reached at (818) 637-3238 or by e-mail at zain.shauk@latimes.com.