Antelope Valley: 2 critical after car crash sparks 673-acre brush fire in Fairmont area

FAIRMONT, Calif. (KABC) -- Two people were in critical condition late Friday afternoon after a two-vehicle crash sparked a large brush fire in the Fairmont area of the Antelope Valley, authorities said.

The collision was reported shortly after 5:30 p.m. near the intersection of 160th Street and Avenue D, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The wind-driven blaze was burning in "light, flashy fuels," the agency said.

In the early afternoon, the blaze was estimated to be about 100 acres. The LAFD later said forward progress of the flames had been stopped after burning 673 acres.

Los Angeles city firefighters also responded to the scene, and an L.A. County sheriff's helicopter arrived to airlift the injured patients to a hospital.

The sheriff's Special Enforcement Bureau later released photos that showed the damaged cars that were involved in the incident. The front end of one vehicle was crumpled against the bottom of its windshield, and passenger-side door of the other car was mangled.

News video from AIR7 HD showed smoke rising from a massive, oval-shaped burn scar as flames burned on its outer perimeter.

Video captured by an Eyewitness News viewer shows the fire burning along Highway 138 north of Quartz Hill near Rosamond. Flames can be seen on one side of the roadway as the viewer, Matt Riggins, drives into a thick, gray smoke.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known.