LOS ANGELES _ A fast-moving brush fire broke out Sunday afternoon near Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, spurring evacuation of the amusement park and an adjacent water park as clouds of smoke and ash covered a large swath of the area, officials said.
The fire erupted at noon and was burning near Interstate 5 along Old Road and Skyview Lane near Magic Mountain Parkway, officials said. By 2 p.m., the fire had burned 40 acres.
Video on social media showed Magic Mountain visitors moving away from the smoke drifting into the park.
"Magic Mountain is evacuating, but they are doing it on their own," said Melanie Flores, a supervising dispatcher for the Los Angeles County Fire Department. "We did not tell them to do this."
About 100 county firefighters and 12 fire engines were on scene battling the blaze, and officials said they believed they had stopped the fire's forward progress. No structures were immediately threatened.
"Six Flags Magic Mountain and Hurricane Harbor (water park) are currently being evacuated due to the brush fire," Six Flags officials said in a statement Sunday afternoon. "The safety and well-being of our guests and team members is our top priority."
Kathy Hoxsie, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Oxnard, said the first heat wave of the summer season arrived in Southern California on Sunday.
"Temperatures at Magic Mountain were between 93 and 96," she said. "Overall, we're looking at 10% humidity, gusts up to 35 mph in some places, and temperatures up 10 degrees from yesterday � so, we're definitely hitting critical fire conditions."
"Monday will also be on the warm and dry side_maybe a degree or two warmer in the San Fernando Valley," she said. "And by Tuesday, we're going to be looking at temperatures in the low 100s in the Antelope Valley and Santa Clarita Valley."
