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1 or 2 wildfires north of Los Angeles, Calif. fully contained, fire department says – @AP

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2 fires north of LA persist after long fire week

A pair of tamed but persistent wildfires still burned in the hills and mountains around Interstate 5 after a wild week of burning brush in the area north of Los Angeles.

A new fire that broke out Friday, the third major blaze in the area in a week, quickly surged to more than 500 acres, briefly threatened an elementary school and led to the temporary evacuation of about 20 homes.

The fire burned very close to I-5 during some of the busiest hours of the week for the heavily traveled route in and out of Los Angeles, but some 350 firefighters were able to get the edge on the blaze as quickly as it arose.

The fire was 60 percent contained by nightfall and residents who evacuated were told they could safely return, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said.

Crews were helped by relatively mild temperatures that were expected to remain into the weekend, but challenged by unpredictable winds and very difficult terrain.

With air and ground attacks, firefighters were able to douse the flames closest to Northlake Hills Elementary School and stop a looming threat.

The school had a large defensible space around it, so it was easy to protect, Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Scott Miller said.

The campus was put on lockdown and buses were put on standby for a time in case hundreds of kindergarten through fifth-grade students needed to be evacuated.

After the flames were redirected, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Sgt. Brian Allen said the students were released to their parents without incident.

The fire was moving toward Castaic Lake.

The earlier fire that broke out Wednesday near Frazier Park was 55 percent contained Friday after consuming some 4,300 acres.

That blaze was not threatening any homes or buildings but fire officials said containing it would be a long, difficult task because it was burning in such rugged and hard-to-reach terrain.

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Firefighters battle flames, terrain, north of LA

Firefighters had to battle terrain as much as flames as they worked to surround a wildfire entering its third day in harsh hills and mountains north of Los Angeles.

Temperatures dipped Thursday and were expected to remain cool on Friday, but winds upwards of 20 mph continued to swirl, and much of the blaze that has blackened some 3,800 acres was in rocky, rugged, difficult-to-reach places, making containment a challenge.

After a heavy aerial effort Thursday, the fire was 25 percent contained by nightfall.

The fire broke out near Interstate 5 when temperatures were in the 80s, and though they've dropped to the 60s, winds were still a problem.

"It's definitely gusty, but we're lucky, the winds are blowing away from homes," Kern County Fire Department spokesman Corey Wilford said. "It would be better if we didn't have winds at all though."

Lower temperatures are expected to persist into the weekend.

The fire has spread to three counties, Los Angeles, Kern and Ventura, but burned in mostly populated areas and threatened no homes or buildings.

A Kern County high school was closed as a precaution.

The fire started early Wednesday afternoon for reasons that remain under investigation. It initially burned thick brush, seasonal grasses and sage, but then moved into the trees.

The cooler weather helped firefighters overnight clear brush and create breaks in hopes of slowing the blaze. Efforts on Thursday were focused on the southern edge of the fire.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.