The fire burned near homes on SW 167th Ave., putting people living there on edge.
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Dramatic images showed cars burning on the road, while the blaze roared in the thick brush along the main artery after nightfall, illuminating the night sky. “People were screaming. It was just mad”, Allevato commented to the AP via phone from a California Highway Patrol vehicle.
Their rental auto was among those destroyed.
A few minutes before they had been on the vacation of a lifetime, but now Russell Allevato and his family were running for their lives from a raging brushfire that had trapped them and hundreds of other terrified… They started running down the highway away from the oncoming fire.
All north and southbound lanes on the 15 Freeway were temporarily closed as a result of the blaze Friday.
“It is very hard to say”, Carapia said about 8 p.m. “Cleanup is still in progress”.
All around the motorists, about 1,000 firefighters fought the wildfire with 22 fire engines, four water trucks, a bulldozer, seven airplanes and three helicopters.
The initial firefight was hampered by five drones that were being flown in the area when flames broke out, said Lee Beyer, a U.S. Forest Service spokesman. There were no confirmed injuries, authorities said.
An evacuation center has been set up at Serrano High School in Phelan. About 2,800 people remained under evacuation orders.
“There were masses of people, herds of people”, she said.
Melissa Atalla said she could see the flames from her petrol station in Baldy Mesa. “They tried to get their dogs out of the auto”, Allevato said. Becerra couldn’t see the cars burning, he said, but he heard tires popping. It was being fueled by dry conditions and heavy winds.
Commuters and folks heading to Las Vegas are being told to avoid the area because there will be heavy delays. Another 10 vehicles were damaged, according to the San Bernardino County Fire Department’s Twitter.
Initial reports had the fire at 25 to 30 acres. That’s about 15 miles due west of the North Fire. “One concern is the lighting that can cause more fires in the area”.
The fire left residents on edge.
Taya Hart and her soccer team were en route to San Diego on Interstate 15 when they saw smoke in the distance.
For Maryam Rizvi, who lives only a few miles from where Friday’s fire crossed the freeway, it was a tense day.
A peaceful scenic trip through the desert turned into a nightmare Friday for a Southgate family caught in the grips of a fast-moving California wildfire. The sun looked bright red. “It’s not something that I did on objective”, said Albert Carrillo, who was charged $242 in fees.
In South Florida, brush fires are common this time of year.
The situation is made worse by dying trees in forest areas.
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The fire crews are focusing on protecting nearby structures and gain additional containment.
