Though some evacuation orders have been lifted, most of the 82,000 evacuees are still waiting to go home, if they have a home to go to.
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The dry vegetation is like firewood, said fire information officer Sean Collins.
San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies have arrested three people for allegedly trying to steal property from an evacuated home in the Blue Cut Fire area. Weather conditions and the dryness of the brush have made the fire unpredictable.
So far there have been no confirmed death, but police are using cadaver dogs to investigate burnt-out areas.
Lyn Sieliet, a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman, said that as many as half of the residents failed to leave their homes.
“I stayed just in case there’s a chance that I can do something to save my house”, Joe Knowlton told the Los Angeles Times.
Staff and regular customers of the Summit Inn attempt to retrieve valuables from the restaurant’s safe on Wednesday Aug. 17, 2016 after the Blue Cut Fire destroyed the historic business on Tuesday in Hesperia, Calif. California?s newest huge wildfire advanced on thousands of homes Wednesday, feeding on drought-stricken vegetation and destroying an untold number of structures as it expanded to almost 47 square miles. The Blue Cut fire was first spotted Tuesday morning, around 10:30 in Cajon Pass, between the San Bernardino and San Gabriel mountains.
“When it gets up to 100, 110 degrees and you’re in close proximity to the fire, it’s extremely challenging, it’s mentally and physically exhausting”, said Famiglietti.
Wildfires across the country in recent years have grown more ferocious and expensive to fight. Two days later, the fire engulfed about 40 square miles of land, according to the Associated Press.
Near Santa Barbara, north of Los Angeles, a new fire broke out Thursday afternoon and spread quickly, charring more than 500 acres.
Interstate 15 is a major route for travelers and truckers between Southern California’s population centers and Las Vegas.
There is still no tally of destroyed homes and structures, but officials are bracing for a high count.
“The smoke was so thick, and as soon as the smoke cleared, we could see that everything was gone”, said Crystal Armstrong, who lost her home.
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Households are also in danger in the mountainous communities of Lytle Creek, Wrightwood and Phelan, near San Bernardino, where firefighters are said to be focusing their efforts. The accused, 40-year-old Damin Anthony Pashilk, is suspected of setting at least 17 other fires, maybe more.
