2LT Local News
Wildfire in Los Angeles prompts evacuation, air quality warning
Sep 8, 2020
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) — A fast growing wildfire in the Angeles National Forest, 30 km east of Los Angeles downtown, on Monday prompted the local authority to issue an evacuation order and air quality warning.
The blaze, dubbed Bobcat Fire, was first reported around 12:20 p.m. local time Sunday and grew to 4,800 acres in 24 hours with 0 percent containment, according to InciWeb, an interstate incident information system.
Due to the fire, an evacuation order was issued Monday morning for the Mount Wilson Observatory, an astronomical observatory in Los Angeles County.
Meanwhile, the fire also threatens to destroy Mount Wilson’s seismic station, which is operated by the California Institute of Technology and has recorded every important earthquake in the state for the past century, according to seismologist Lucy Jones.
“The building may be old but the instrumentation inside is state of the art,” she tweeted Monday.
With the fire spreading smoke and ash over the region, the South Coast Air Quality Management District warned of unhealthy air quality in the San Gabriel Mountains, eastern San Gabriel Valley and Pomona-Walnut Valley, where one of the biggest Chinese-American communities is located.
Los Angeles County has asked the residents to avoid unnecessary outdoor exposure and limit any physical exertions outside or inside.
