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.
Advertisement
Impeded by treacherous terrain, hot, dry, windy weather and the ferocious nature of the blaze itself, almost 1,600 firefighters have so far managed to carve containment lines around just 4 per cent of the fire zone, authorities said. As temperatures in California have reached extremely high numbers -to the triple digits, in some cases- the fire can then catch on and expand rapidly. “Now we can get ahead of it”. The Pilot fire burned 8,110 acres near where the Blue Cut fire is burning.
It is 5 percent contained.
Much of the fire is burning in uninhabited areas between the San Bernardino and San Gabriel mountains, but populated areas are being affected.
Stopping – let alone putting out – a fast-moving fire like this is impossible without a serious change in the weather.
Fire officials, who have described the fire’s intensity as highly unusual, expressed concern that “red flag” weather conditions would keep the area dry, hot and windy.
Firefighters have yet to tally property losses but indicate there have been many. On Wednesday, crews stopped flames from jumping fire breaks dug by bulldozers.
In the southern Sierra Nevada, another blaze feeding on dense timber in Sequoia National Forest exploded to almost 15 square miles. The cause has not been announced.
Other evacuation orders remained in place.
Daniel Martinez, 48, returned to his Oak Hills home to find it completely unscathed. Not only did the fire level her house, but it also engulfed the Summit Inn, a popular Route 66 diner where she was the general manager. “My wife is already inside crying tears of joy”. “Thankfully it’s repairable and not a structural issue”.
As the Blue Cut fire burns near Lytle Creek numerous residents are taking refuge at the Red Cross evacuation center in Fontana where they’re waiting for word their homes are in the clear.
VICTORVILLE A wall of flames burned it’s way up the Highway 138 Corridor almost destroying everything in its path earlier this week.
Thursday afternoon, Union Pacific was still assessing damage to the bridge.
No structures burned Thursday, Poole said.
“Some of you have been doing this 30 years”, she said. Top Cafe near Wrightwood. Thursday morning, the fire, once again, came dangerously close to homes and a major freeway. Not far away, the community and senior centers still stood as well. “There’s nothing you can do”, said Lisa Gregory of Lytle Creek.
Sheriff’s Deputies said the trio was trying to steal a truck off someone’s property on the 8600 block of Swarthout Canyon Road. “It went from “have you heard there’s a fire?’ to ‘mandatory evacuation” before you could take it all in”. The fire “continues to burn actively with short range spotting and torching observed”, Cal Fire said.
Awe-inspiring as they are, firenadoes are actually fairly common, Clements says.
“We definitely make sure the community has enough supplies”, he said.
The Blue Cut fire, named for a narrow gorge near its origin in the Cajon Pass about 75 miles northeast of Los Angeles, has blackened 35,969 acres of drought-parched heavy brush and chaparral after breaking out on Tuesday. The California Highway Patrol reopened I-15 late Wednesday night, while.
A firefighter works to contain embers on the remains of a house destroyed in the Clayton Fire are seen in Lower Lake, California, Aug. 15, 2016.
Flames could also spread to the west, north of Highway 138. Those areas should return to normal fire risk by September. The practice was credited with saving 15 to 20 buildings at the time.
San Bernardino County’s Mass Care and Shelter plan opened up a Shelter Operations Compound at the county fairgrounds in Victorville Friday.
The wildfire was started amid extremely hot, dry conditions and low humidity, making the battle more hard for firefighters. “But the possibility is still there for explosive growth”, fire spokesman Brad Pitassi said. He appeared in court on Wednesday, but he did not enter a plea.
But, with flames still surging ahead, Kent warned “the fire could be a threat to our operation depending on the wind”. Heat began to melt paint on their fire engine.
Some 700 firefighters are battling the blaze, according to InciWeb.
Advertisement
“Now we had fire coming right at us”. Forest Service’s incident page. “And, you know, it’s kind of the ideal storm right now”.
