Mountain Campgrounds, Trails Closed as Blaze Still Smolders

Officials closed campgrounds and trails on the eve of the Labor Day weekend as firefighters labored to snuff out the last embers from one of the largest Angeles National Forest fires in decades.

Hot spots continued to smolder Friday in the Sheep Mountain Wilderness area near Wrightwood, said Diane Cahir, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Forest Service. “The fire is still not controlled,” she said. “We still have crews out there mopping up. There is still smoke out there.”

Firefighters also are concerned about the widespread fire danger posed by the continuing warm, dry weather in the mountains, she said.

The areas closed this weekend are within or bordering the wilderness area, which ranges from Mount Baldy Village on the south to the Mountain High ski area on the north.

Visitors will be excluded from Blue Ridge Road to the East Fork Fire Station; the East Fork Trail from East Fork Station to Vincent Saddle; the Grassy Hollow picnic area; Jackson Flat Campground; the Lower Loop of Table Mountain Campground; and the Pacific Crest Trail from Little Jimmy to Blue Ridge Road. Holiday overcrowding could also force the closure of access roads into Big Tujunga Wash and San Gabriel Canyon, Cahir said.

The fire has unearthed a mystery near Angeles Crest Highway. Firefighters discovered the wreckage of an old, small plane with apparently human bone fragments, authorities said.

National Transportation Safety Board investigators have been called in to examine the debris in an effort to identify the victim and determine when and how the crash occurred.