| Powerhouse Fire | |
| Location: | Los Angeles County, California, United States |
| Cause: | Downed power lines[1] |
| Buildings: | 53 |
| Injuries: | 10 |
| Fatalities: | 0 |
The Powerhouse Fire was a wildfire in northern Los Angeles County, California, mostly in the Angeles National Forest. It started at approximately 3:30 PM on May 30, 2013. It was 100% contained by June 10, 2013.
The fire began near a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) facility in San Francisquito Canyon near Drinkwater Reservoir.[2]
Overnight, between June 1 and June 2, the fire encountered an area where terrain aligned with high winds, causing it rapidly expand from 5500acres to 19500acres.[3]
The fire burned more than 30,000 acres and destroyed 53 structures, including 24 homes.[4] At the fire's peak it threatened more than 1,000 structures.[5] Two thousand firefighters were deployed to fight the fire. The communities of Lake Hughes, Elizabeth Lake, and Green Valley were evacuated.[6]
The fire never posed a threat to urban areas because the majority of the blaze was located in Angeles National Forest. The Powerhouse Fire did pose a threat to local forests as well as to powerlines, watershed areas, and the habitats of threatened and endangered species.[7]
The fire resulted in 10 minor injuries.[8] At least three were heat-related injuries suffered by firefighters.
A U.S. Forest Service investigation concluded that the fire had begun when an LADWP power line tripped, based in part on firefighters' discovery of a damaged insulator with signs of arcing at the site of the fire's ignition.