By Susan Motander
As of Wednesday, June 22, fire crews had created a full dozer line between Bradbury and Monrovia, on the western front of the San Gabriel Complex fire. This step alone allowed residents in those cities to breathe a little more easily.
“With 10 helicopters available for water drops and the establishment of the bulldozer line, we are hoping fire crews will continue to maintain the existing fire line,” said Monrovia Police Chief Jim Hunt.
Monrovia’s Fire Chief Brad Dover related that the leading edge of the fire on its western side had been threatening Bradbury and potentially Monrovia. “We are completing that dozer line and supplementing it with hand lines in the area,” he said.
“We should have that western front contained by the tonight if the weather holds throughout the day,” Dover said at mid-day on Wednesday.
As of Wednesday, some residents of the over 850 homes that had been evacuated in Duarte and Azusa, were being allowed back into their homes. While large animals such as horses and other livestock were not be allowed back in, residents who were returning to their homes were being allowed to bring in their smaller pets such as dogs and cats.
No residents of Monrovia have been forced to leave their homes, although some chose to leave the area early to prevent possible congestion on the narrow winding roads in the foothills, should an evacuation be required.
The Red Cross has set up an evacuation center at the Duarte Community Center, 1610 Huntington Drive. Pets were not allowed at this facility, but are being housed at the Pomona Fairplex. Wonder Dog Ranch in Monrovia was also offering shelter to smaller pets forced to leave their homes.
Originally two fires, dubbed the Reservoir Fire above Azusa and the Fish Fire above Duarte, the two are now being referred to jointly as the San Gabriel Complex fire. Even though they had not yet burned together, the fires combines have charred more than 5,400 acres.
The Reservoir Fire broke out at approximately 11 a.m. on Monday when a vehicle reported went off Highway 39 near Morris Reservoir and sparked the fire which had been burning above Azusa ever since.
Just 90 minutes later, another blaze called the Fish Fire, for its location in Fish Canyon, broke out above the City of Duarte. The cause of this blaze had not yet been determined.
Starting on Monday afternoon (June 20) and continuing all day on Tuesday (June 21) and Wednesday, fire drops, along with fire retardant chemicals, bombarded the fires. In the communities below the fire, the bright fuchsia color of fire retardant stood out against the grayish green of the chaparral covering the ridges above them.
