SANTA ROSA, Calif. (AP) – As crews gained on the wildfires in California wine country, new blazes broke out Tuesday in other parts of the state, including a fire in the mountains above Los Angeles that threatened a historic observatory and more flames in the Santa Cruz mountains.
Firefighters on the ground and in the air raced to protect the Mount Wilson Observatory and nearby communications towers from a growing brush fire northeast of Los Angeles. The blaze was initially estimated at around 5 acres (2 hectares). The observatory has been evacuated.
Farther north, a fire that sprang up overnight in the mountains of the southern Bay Area blackened at least 125 acres and threatened 150 homes, which prompted evacuation orders.
Winds remained light, but conditions were also dry. Crews dropped water on the blaze, which started as a house fire.
“The idea is to hit it pretty hard with aircraft and hit it with ground resources at the same time,” said Rob Sherman, assistant chief of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.