by Mick Rhodes | editor@claremont-courier.com

As of 8:48 p.m. Friday more than 200 firefighters, including several helicopters and air tankers, were working to contain the Fork Fire, which has burned 250 acres in the east fork of the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument section of Angeles National Forest above Azusa, according to Angeles National Forest Public Affairs Officer Dana Dierkes.

The first reports of the fire near East Fork Road, which leads from Highway 39 on the Azusa side to Glendora Mountain Road, came in at 3:21 p.m. Friday. It is now burning toward the Sheep Mountain Wilderness.

The east fork of the San Gabriel River, popular recreation area in the summertime, is closed for the weekend due to the fire, Dierkes said. Hikers and campers in the area were evacuated shortly after the fire broke out. Residents in the Camp Williams area were not evacuated.

Firefighters from Angeles National Forest, Los Angeles County Fire Department, Cal Fire, and Ventura County Fire are on the scene, with support from the California Highway Patrol, and LA County Sheriff’s Department.

Several people were treated for smoke inhalation in the afternoon in the forest area along East Fork Road, Dierkes said, but it was unclear how many. Also unclear at this point was whether they had been transported to a hospital or were being treated at the scene.

The Courier will update this story as more information becomes available.

The Fork Fire’s plume looking north on Sumner Avenue in Claremont at about 4 p.m. Friday. Photo/ Lara Jenkins