LOS ANGELES _ As a historic heat wave continued to broil Southern California on Monday, the National Forest Service announced it would temporarily close forests and campgrounds across the state beginning at 5 p.m. because of the extreme heat and dangerous fire conditions.
Closing those recreation areas _ including the Angeles, San Bernardino, Los Padres, Cleveland, Stanislaus, Sierra, Sequoia and Inyo national forests _ will help reduce the potential for human-caused fires, officials said.
"Existing fires are displaying extreme fire behavior, new fire starts are likely, weather conditions are worsening, and we simply do not have enough resources to fully fight and contain every fire," said Randy Moore, regional forester for the USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region.
The unprecedented closure of eight national forests, including all in Southern California, shuts all trails, campgrounds, roads and other developed sites in the forests. For example, hikers holding permits to hike to the summit of 14,505-foot Mount Whitney in the Inyo National Forest will be turned back.
"People who have permits for Mount Whitney will have them canceled until such time as we reopen," said forest spokeswoman Deb Schweizer.
Hikers on the John Muir Trail or even the Pacific Crest Trail that runs through Inyo and other national forests should leave while closures are in effect, she said.
The closure of the Angeles National Forest will be in effect until Sept. 14, according to an online post by agency.
State officials issued a flex alert from 3 p.m. Monday to 9 a.m. Tuesday to conserve energy and reduce the risk of a potential outage, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection announced. Officials encouraged residents to turn off lights when leaving a room, shut down power strips when not in use and close blinds to keep out the sun.
After a weekend of all-time high temperatures, the heat wave gripping Southern California eased slightly Monday _ but many inland areas remained in the triple digits.
Temperatures fell about 10 degrees in many areas Monday. But any improvement might not be very noticeable, given how hot it has been. The National Weather Service said the coast is seeing the most relief Monday. Inland valley temperatures are staying in the 105-117 range; foothills are hitting the 103-115 range. Another temperature drop is on tap for Tuesday.
The excessive heat warning that remains in effect for many parts of the region through Monday night is making for explosive conditions for firefighters battling several Southern California blazes.
The Bobcat fire, which started above Azusa in the Angeles National Forest, grew overnight to 4,871 acres amid extreme fire danger warnings. Staffers at the Mount Wilson Observatory were evacuated Monday morning as the flames raged toward the grounds.
As of Sunday afternoon, the Bobcat fire in Angeles National Forest had burned an estimated 1,000 acres.
Angeles National Forest fire explodes to almost 5,000 acres, sends ash far and wide
Ash from the blaze rained down along the 210 corridor and the Pasadena area and has prompted the South Coast Air Quality Management District to issue a smoke advisory for the foothill communities and into the Santa Clarita Valley through Monday, warning of unhealthy air for sensitive people.
In San Bernardino, the El Dorado fire continued to spread overnight on the northeastern edge of Yucaipa. Authorities said the more than 7,000-acre blaze was started by a "smoke-generating pyrotechnic device, used during a gender reveal party" Saturday morning at El Dorado Ranch Park. Authorities implored the public to take every precaution against starting a wildfire.
The Valley fire, roughly 30 miles east of San Diego, also grew overnight, reaching 10,258 acres but remaining 1% contained as the battle to stop its march in rugged East County terrain entered its third day. Monday brought a new tool to the fight: military planes. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection is activating a standing agreement with the Navy 3rd Fleet and the 1 Marine Expeditionary Force to deploy military aircraft to fight the fire, Cal Fire spokesman Capt. Kendal Bortisser said.
The Valley fire has already destroyed 11 homes and 25 outbuildings in Japatul Valley, southeast of Alpine.
The extreme temperature over the weekend shattered records.
Woodland Hills on Sunday recorded an all-time high of 121 degrees, which the National Weather Service said was the hottest temperature recorded at an official weather station in Los Angeles County.
It broke the old record of 119 degrees set in July 2006 and was one of several records to fall on Sunday. Escondido achieved an all-time high of 115 degrees, shattering a record set in 1909. Paso Robles also hit an all-time high at 117, as did Idyllwild (104) and Chino (121).
Neighborhoods across Los Angeles lost power over the weekend and crews with the L.A. Department of Water and Power worked to restore service to more than 115,000 customers as of noon Monday, according to the city department. About 32,000 customers were still without power early Monday afternoon in neighborhoods including Sylmar, East Hollywood and Leimert Park, the department said in a release.
Officials have opened dozens of cooling centers across L.A. County to help residents deal with the extreme heat.
A woman in her late 40s was hiking on a trail in the Santa Monica Mountains in Calabasas when she began to feel sick and collapsed at 2 p.m. Saturday, said L.A. County Sheriff's Deputy Juanita Navarro.
The hiker was pronounced dead at the scene. The official cause of death is still unknown, Navarro said.
Because of the dangerous heat wave, all trails in the Santa Monica Mountains are closed through Labor Day, Malibu Search and Rescue said in a tweet.
In Angeles National Forest, the Sheriff's Department search-and-rescue team performed an air rescue Saturday of a semiconscious hiker suffering from heat exhaustion on the popular Strawberry Peak trail, where temperatures often soar because it has minimal shade in the afternoon.
