Frenchman Fire burns 50 acres in Angeles National Forest, firefighters stop forward progress

Firefighters stopped forward progress of the Frenchman Fire after it burned 50 acres in the Angeles National Forest Thursday afternoon, authorities said.

The brush fire started near the 39000 block of Golden State Highway at 12:08 p.m., according to Angeles National Forest. In an update just after 2:30 p.m., forest officials said firefighters had gotten the blaze 10% contained and stopped its forward progess.

Earlier, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said the fire had reached 75 acres before forest officials released the updated figure.

No structures were threatened and no injuries reported, authorities said. 

Forecasters have issued a "particularly dangerous situation" Red Flag warning for the area, a rare weather advisory typically issued once every few years which carries a higher risk level than regular Reg Flag warnings. Extremely low humidity and powerful Santa Ana winds have combined to create the potential for wildfires that can easily spark and spread rapidly, forecasters say.

The same advisory remains in place until 3 p.m. for that part of Los Angeles County as well as Ventura County, where the devastating Mountain Fire continued to grow Thursday — reaching nearly 20,000 acres by noon. It injured people, destroyed homes in Camarillo and sent thousands fleeing in communities such as Somis, Santa Paula, Camarillo and the Moorpark area. 

Dozens of schools closed and utilities issued widespread power shutoffs to avoid further wildfire risks as the blaze spread.