Firefighters were gaining ground on Friday against a wildfire burning in a Southern California mountain pass that has forced tens of thousands of residents to flee their homes and destroyed about 100 houses, officials said.
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The fire reached Main Street in Lower Lake, a town of about 1,200 about 90 miles north of San Francisco, on Sunday and burned the post office, a winery, a Habitat for Humanity office and several businesses as thick, black smoke loomed over the small downtown strip. Scenes of destruction were everywhere Thursday after a huge wildfire sped through mountains and high desert 60 miles east of Los Angeles so swiftly that it took seasoned firefighters off guard.
In northern California, the Clayton Fire in Lake County has burned almost 4,000 acres and destroyed at least 175 homes, Cal Fire said. A wildfire broke out on Tuesday in a mountainous area.
Residents in Lower Lake and surrounding communities are still recovering from California’s third-most-destructive wildfire past year, which burned 120 square miles and cost more than $1.5 billion in damages. A San Bernardino County Fire Department firefighter watches a helitanker make a water drop on a wildfire, seen from Cajon Boulevard in Devore, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016.
Meanwhile, some schools in the Konocti Unified School District will open Monday for the fall after the start date was delayed by the fire.
Over 200 outbuilding and numerous vehicles were also destroyed by the fire that’s already scorched 58 square miles.
UPDATED: LOWER LAKE, Calif. (WKOW) – Damin Anthony Pashilk of Clearlake, California was arrested Monday on 17 counts of arson and is in jail.
The dry vegetation is like firewood, said fire information officer Sean Collins.
The fire was 26 percent contained Friday morning, the AP said.
“The fire burned so intensely that there’s no fuels left for it to move again”, Pitassi said.
A dish towel hangs in front of a burned out residence on Highway 138 after the Blue Cut Fire burned through Phelan, Calif., on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016.
Although authorities have begun lifting some evacuation orders it’s unclear when all areas will be cleared for people to return.
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Travel was returning to normal in the Cajon pass – a major corridor for trucking, rail and commuter traffic – after Interstate 15 was fully reopened Thursday after being closed since Tuesday due to the rapid and fierce Blue Cut Fire in the area. All evacuation orders have been canceled.
