Firefighters gain upper hand over wildfire in suburban Los Angeles

10:53, 2 September 2009

LOS ANGELES. September 2. KAZINFORM Assisted by rising humidity, firefighters gained an upper hand over a massive wildfire which was moving toward Los Angeles, fire commanders said on Tuesday, Kazinform cites Xinhuanet.

The 190-square-mile (304-square-kilometer) Station Fire continued to burgeon, but the rate of increase has diminished, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACFD).

The U.S. Forest Service reported that fire crews made progress on Monday pushing back flames on the northwestern flank of the blaze.

Firefighters in Glendale and La Canada Flintridge also reported beating back the fire in those areas.

Since its outbreak in the Angeles National Forest north of Los Angeles on Wednesday, the fire has destroyed 53 homes and threatened thousands more in foothill suburbs.

It is also threatening Mount Wilson -- the site of a historic observatory and an array of broadcast communications towers used by the bulk of Southern California's television and radio stations, as well as public safety agencies, Kazinform refers to Xinhuanet.

See www.chinaview.cn for full version.

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