LOS ANGELES _ Firefighters reported progress Tuesday in the battle against a deadly wildfire that has scorched the Santa Clarita Valley and raised a pall over parts of Los Angeles County.
The Sand fire grew slightly to 37,473 acres, but more than 3,000 firefighters have been deployed to douse the flames and construct defensive lines.
The fire is now 25 percent contained, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
"There's still a lot of firefighting to be done," forest service spokesman Justin Correll said.
Although the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department allowed most residents to return home Monday evening, hundreds of residents in three areas were still under evacuation orders.
L.A. County declared a local emergency Monday as the wildfire continued to grow.
The massive blaze erupted Friday along the northbound 14 Freeway on Sand Canyon Road. At least 18 structures have been destroyed and one damaged in the Angeles National Forest near Bear Divide and Sand Canyon areas, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
The fire has been blamed for one fatality.
Robert Bresnick, 67, was discovered dead about 7:20 p.m. Saturday inside a burned car parked in a driveway outside a home in the 26700 block of Iron Canyon Road.
Bresnick, 67, was visiting a friend when evacuation orders went out to residents, said Ed Winter, spokesman for the Los Angeles County coroner's office. But Bresnick was apparently "uncooperative" and did not want to leave, he said.
As flames approached, his friend began evacuating, but Bresnick went back inside the home.
"They were trying to get him to leave," Winter said.
He later emerged from the home, but it was too late.
Bresnick's friend ran for the hills, while Bresnick entered his car just as flames swept over the area.
Twenty minutes later, firefighters found his burned body inside the car, Winter said.
Neighbors on Tuesday said he was trying to rescue his dogs and got caught in the fire. Residents said his girlfriend fled with her pet before the flames ran through the home.
Morgan Franklin, who lives across the street from the home, said the couple had three dogs.
"Her house is gone, her boyfriend is gone," Franklin said. "It's crazy."
Investigators used dental records to identify Bresnick, officials said. An autopsy will be performed to determine an official cause of death.
Powerful winds, excessive heat and low humidity fueled flames, scorching thousands of acres of forestland that hadn't seen fire in several decades.
Ash from the fire fell throughout Los Angeles County, and smoke created an apocalyptic haze, even triggering air-quality advisories as far away as Reno, Nev.
On Tuesday, the South Coast Air Quality Management District extended a smoke advisory for the Antelope Valley, Santa Clarita Valley and parts of the San Gabriel Mountains. Officials warned that the air could reach unhealthy levels on account of the smoke.
The fire already left scorch marks that could be seen from space, according to NASA. Satellites traveling above the Earth recorded images showing slightly darkened canyons and hills in the Santa Clarita Valley.
The National Weather Service warned that 25 to 30 mph winds were expected through Thursday in the Santa Clarita Valley and area mountains. Strong winds were also forecast for the Antelope Valley.
"Elevated fire danger is expected to persist through late in the week and possibly through the weekend," the weather service said. "The potential for rapid growth and extreme fire behavior will continue, for existing fires and for any new fire that occurs."
The weather service urged "extreme caution," especially in areas with heavy brush.
