Fire Threatens Explosives Plant; Arson Suspected

Arson was the suspected cause of a fast-moving fire Sunday that blackened 25 acres of dry brush and grass and briefly threatened an explosives manufacturing plant in Newhall, Los Angeles County Fire Department officials said.

The blaze broke out shortly after noon north of Cleardale Street and Quigley Canyon, northwest of the Antelope Valley Freeway, fire Capt. Tom King said. Fed by shifting 15 m.p.h. Santa Ana winds, it spread in a generally southwest direction, with a portion of the fire moving quickly north, he said.

Fire officials considered the blaze “potentially dangerous” because of the high winds and the dry, dense brush in the area.

About 130 firefighters, including 10 engine companies, two bulldozers and four helicopters, brought the fire under control in less than two hours. No injuries were reported, fire Capt. Terry Hart said.

At one time, flames burned up to the fence of Bermite, an explosives plant in the 22100 block of Soledad Canyon Road, Hart said, but were halted before they reached explosives in several storage structures. He said the blaze was believed to have been set by an arsonist.