Evacuations grow as Los Angeles area fire rages

By Deena Beasley

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A wildfire raged in the mountains north of Los Angeles on Saturday, sending up huge plumes of purple-gray smoke and prompting the evacuation of more than 3,000 homes on the northeastern edge of the city.

The fire, which had scorched nearly 20,000 acres (8,000 hectares) by late afternoon, also threatened key telecommunications facilities, including TV and radio transmission towers.

The blaze, which broke out on Wednesday afternoon in the San Gabriel Mountains near the exclusive suburb of La Canada Flintridge, was spreading toward homes from Pasadena to the San Fernando Valley by late on Saturday.

Residents in the northernmost reaches of Glendale and La Crescenta were told to get out of their homes on Saturday afternoon, as the mandatory evacuation zone reached the eastern limits of the city of Los Angeles.

Evacuation zones included a hilltop subdivision just across a canyon from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

The fire broke out on Wednesday afternoon and was just 5 percent contained as of early Saturday, according to Los Angeles County Fire Department Captain Mark Savage.

Firefighters were trying to keep the blaze from reaching Mount Wilson, which houses key television and radio transmitters, as well as towers that handle emergency services dispatches.