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Firefighters finishing containment of California wildfires

Saddleridge Fire
Posted at 12:33 PM, Oct 14, 2019
and last updated 2019-10-14 15:34:25-04

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Firefighters are dousing remaining smoldering areas from a destructive wildfire that raged along the northern edge of Los Angeles last week.

The Los Angeles Fire Department says containment of the approximately 12-square-mile (31-square-kilometer) fire is at 43 percent Monday.

Updated assessments lowered the number of destroyed structures to 17 but increased the number damaged to 58.

The fire erupted Thursday night and was rapidly spread by Santa Ana winds. A man in the fire area went into cardiac arrest and died.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

To the east in Riverside County, a 1.5-square-mile (3.8-square-kilometer) fire that destroyed dozens of mobile homes and left two people dead last week is 94% contained.

That fire ignited when a trash truck driver dumped a burning load amid winds.

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