The Hurst Fire in Sylmar has prompted the evacuation of residents of the Oakridge Mobile Home Park.
Michael, a longtime resident of the community, has packed up all of his belongings and is ready to leave but hasn’t yet, regardless of the evacuation order. He’s one of the few who stayed behind in the community.
“It was about 10 o’clock last night, the winds were fierce and the power lines arced together. They shorted out, there was a bright light, there was a slight boom and I looked down at the bottom of the standard and there was a small ball of flame,” he told KTLA 5’s Annie Rose Ramos.
Michael explained that years ago, he saw the same thing happen in that same spot four to five years ago.
“I was hoping, earlier in the evening, they were talking about cutting off the wire because of the impending windstorm. Apparently they didn’t,” he continued.
Having dealt with this before, Michael told KTLA 5 he began “staging” his garage Tuesday afternoon and began “frantically” packing at around 10 p.m.
In the bed of his pickup truck are some of his and his wife’s precious belongings like his guitars, clothes, pictures and blankets.
Sadly, he has had experience doing this.
Michael had lived in the community and “lost everything” during the devastating Sayre Fire in November of 2008.
He said he was only able to leave with his cats and two guitars, but thankfully he and his loved ones came out “unscathed.”
Regardless of the past, he has been happy to call this area home. He’s been keeping an eye on the winds and is prepared to evacuate if he absolutely has to. In the meantime, he’s standing guard near his home.
Fire officials urge residents to heed their warnings about evacuations and do so immediately when instructed.
The Hurst Fire was first reported after 10 p.m. on Tuesday and has grown to 505 acres as of 6:56 a.m. on Wednesday.
Officials issued evacuations for the following areas:
- Mandatory EvacuationNorth of 210 Freeway from Roxford to the Interstate 5 / 14 Freeway split
- Evacuation Warning:5 Freeway to Woodley/Balboa to Lahey Street to Zelzah Ave
- Calgrove
- Newhall Pass
- Wildwood
- Eternal Valley
- Evacuation SheltersRitchie Valens Recreation Center: 10736 Laurel Canyon Blvd. Pacoima, CA 91331
- Northridge Park: 10120 Reseda Blvd. Northridge, CA 91324
- Sepulveda Recreation Center: 8825 Kester Ave. Panorama City, CA 9140
- Road ClosuresWB I-210 at Roxford Blvd.
- NB AND SB I-5 TO EB I-210
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