The so-called Blue Cut Fire erupted on Tuesday (August 16) in the mountainous Cajon Pass northeast of Los Angeles and, by late Wednesday night, had exploded to cover 25,626 acres, fire officials said.
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Lisa Gregory has kept a close eye on the weather since fleeing her home in the woods as a wildfire advanced in Southern California.
Forest Service officials say the fire is the most active in the Gobbler’s Peak portion south of Wrightwood.
The cause of the fire has been deemed arson.
Evacuated areas included the ski-resort town of Wrightwood, where some 4,500 people live.
Hundreds of cars packed with belongings and animals left the town.
Drought-stricken California has been hit with waves of wildfires this summer, fueled by dry conditions, heat and dead brush. In central California, a day-old wildfire burned 20 structures and threatened 150 homes. But they have room to grow should the fire threaten more communities. Tragically, the Habitat for Humanity office was working to raise money to help rebuild homes destroyed by a devastating wildfire that killed four people and destroyed more than 1,300 homes almost a year ago. Mike McGuire about last year’s wildfire.
“I just want to know if I have a house”, she said.
Firefighters battling a 40-square-mile wildfire in the mountains and desert of Southern California face another day of hot and dry weather with gusty southwest winds.
The fire was throwing embers and spreading rapidly as it fed on bone-dry vegetation. “Crews really buttoned up some areas, but the possibility is still there for explosive growth”, fire spokesman Brad Pitassi said.
No deaths have been reported, although two firefighters surrounded by flames on Tuesday sustained minor injuries.
Residents in Lower Lake and surrounding communities are still recovering from California’s third-most-destructive wildfire a year ago, which burned 120 square miles and cost more than $1.5 billion in damages.
“They’ve seen it before”, Pittman told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Some evacuation orders have been lifted for residents living near a huge wildfire in Southern California.
Wildfire – The Blue Cut Fire, just outside of Los Angeles, is a quickly growing fire that is now an imminent threat to public safety, rail traffic and structures in the Cajon Pass, Lytle Creek, Wrightwood, Oak Hills, and surrounding areas.
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Gusty winds between 30 and 50 miles per hour are expected to continue in the area, and warnings of fire weather and excessive heat are stretching from Southern California to the Pacific Northwest due to the winds and low humidity, with some parts of Southern California have less than 5 percent humidity.
