Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor

IRWINDALE - For the second time in six days, a brush fire burned along the undeveloped portion of the Santa Fe Dam Recreational Area, this time destroying heavy equipment.

No injuries have been reported in the fire that sparked in the same area as the July 5 brush fire, adjacent to the Miller Brewery and the Metro Gold Line right of way. All forward progress of the fire, reported at 3:58 p.m., was stopped about one hour ago, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

Winds helped to drive the fire eastbound. Firefighters set up structure protection groups for the brewery as flames came close to the western side of the facility.

Miller Brewery employees could be seen moving away from the thickest smoke, which for a time enveloped most of the western side of the brewery.

Fire began spotting across a road on the Miller property, firefighters reported.

Upon arriving near the firefighter command post at the Santa Fe Dam Nature Center about 15 minutes after the fire ware dispatched, this reporter hear two loud explosions, potentially from some of the flatbed trucks that were destroyed.

This reporter, the only one to reach inside Santa Fe Dam, was asked to leave by an Irwindale Police officer.

Thick black smoke and the smell of soot wafted across the Metro Gold Line tracks and 210 freeway.

Neither freeway traffic, nor Gold Line service, was stopped as the fire inched closer to the edge of the Santa Fe Dam area along the freeway. Trains and vehicle traffic pushed on through haze and the thick scent of burning vegetation.

While the cause of the fire is under investigation, a number of transients have set up home in the same area where the fire ignited.

Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor

IRWINDALE - A 30-acre brush fire was declared 100 percent contained Friday morning.

The fire ignited in the Santa Fe Dam Recreational Area Thursday afternoon, sending smoke and ash wafting through the Irwindale, Azusa and Glendora area. The fire, which ignited in the northern portion of the dam, threatened some facilities at the Miller Brewery, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

CBS2 news reported a civilian suffered from smoke inhalation, but injuries could not be confirmed, according to Marvin Lim, spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

Firefighters established a 100 percent line around the fire, Lim said.

The cause is still under investigation, Lim said.

The Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension was briefly threatened by the fire
Firefighters provided structure protection to fight flames if they came close to the brewery.

The California Highway Patrol, deputies with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Parks Bureau will remain at the command post with Los Angeles County Firefighters throughout the night, according to the Irwindale Police Department.

A number of homeless encampments pepper the recreational area, especially near the Santa Fe Dam Nature Center and in undeveloped areas near the 210 freeway.