About 5,000 more homes were advised that they may want to evacuate, authorities said.
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A wildfire in the mountains of San Bernardino County grew to almost 7,000 acres and shut down local schools Tuesday. 7 at 12:10 p.m. near Pilot Rock Camp in the Silverwood Lake area and was first reported at 30 acres.
Almost 1,000 firefighters were battling the blaze, which began about 12:10 p.m. Sunday near the miller Canyon OHV area off of Highway 138.
According to InciWeb, the Pilot fire, located 50 east of Los Angeles in the San Bernardino National Forest, spread quickly through dry timber and brush and forced the evacuation of dozens of homes in Summit Valley, California. “We realize that with the wind conditions that it could push embers to spots across the fire line, so we’re keeping a close eye on that”, Jake Rodriguez with the U.S. Forest Service explained.
More than 900 firefighters are assigned to the fire, Poole said. Air tankers swooped low to paint the dry vegetation with pink fire retardant.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
A San Bernardino County firefighter is shrouded in dust and smoke as handcrew members and bulldozer cleared smoldering debris from a wildfire in Hesperia, Calif., Tuesday.
The mountainous terrain in northern California has made the job particularly hard, and the flames have destroyed 57 buildings with another 410 under threat, causing hundreds of homeowners to evacuate.
The blaze in the San Bernardino Mountains east of Silverwood Lake and south of the high desert city of Hesperia grew from 1,500 acres on Sunday to 4,500 acres early Monday.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District and Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District have issued smoke advisories for the Mojave Desert Area.
The American Red Cross has opened a shelter at Oak Hills High School.
Highway 173 is closed between Highway 138 and Arrowhead Lake Road.
The fire, which erupted for an unknown reason on Monday, was just 6 per cent contained.
Hundreds of San Bernardino County Firefighters were battling the blaze, which began Sunday.
Among other fires in California, the 18-day-old blaze near Big Sur has burned almost 90 square miles and is 45 percent contained.
Five state parks frequented by tourists on the Highway 1 route between San Francisco and Los Angeles remained closed.
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Local citizens and businesses poured out generosity and showed acts of kindness to all those who have tirelessly fought the fire around the clock.
