More than 34,000 households remain under evacuation warnings as firefighters have concentrated their efforts on saving homes in the mountain communities of Lytle Creek, Wrightwood and Phelan.
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“Blue Cut Fire in the Cajon Pass (San Bernardino Co) is now 31,600 acres and four percent contained”, the message posted on Twitter stated.
This area was last hit by a fire 13 years ago, so the chaparral has a mix of new and old dead growth, which has made for fast-burning fuel.
“If the first house catches on fire here or the fire breaks this mountain here, then I’m gone, then we’re gone”, Santucci said.
Six firefighters were briefly trapped by flames during the fire’s early hours, when occupants of a home refused to leave and the crew stayed to protect them.
As many as eight wildland fires were burning in California on Wednesday, three of them scorching thousands of acres as firefighters sought help from emergency responders from other states and the California National Guard.
The weather over the next several days will make it challenging for fire crews to gain ground containing the blaze. More accurate mapping led to the revision.
“The pool may be safe area where it’s not going to burn, but the air around is super-heated from all the gases from the fire and you still have to breathe and a lot of times those super-heated gases cause significant damage to your lungs”, Cheif Belyea said.
The massive Blue Cut Fire in the Cajon Pass came dangerously close to Lytle Creek Wednesday as it moved down a ridge near the Mountain Lakes Resort, an RV camping park in the community.
USA government forecasters say the dryness and heat means that Southern California faces a potential threat from major wildfires until at least December.
The fire began near the hiking trail of the same name on Tuesday. “You can always get those back”. Glenn Barley, the San Bernardino unit chief of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire) noted, “It’s to the point where explosive fire growth is the new normal this year, and that’s a challenge for all of us to take on”. “You’ve got flames behind you”.
Firefighters continue to battle flames that have climbed the rugged flanks of the San Gabriel Mountains, threatening communities including the ski town of Wrightwood at an elevation of almost 6,000 feet.
On Wednesday, August 17th, officials announced the fire had chewed through 30,000 acres. He appeared in court Wednesday but did not enter a plea.
Hartwig said while some homes have been saved, many families will come home to nothing.
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About 4,000 people in the town of Clearlake were allowed to return home Tuesday and more could follow Wednesday.
