About 4,700 homes in the mountain areas were under mandatory and voluntary evacuation orders, and about 500 homes in Hesperia were under mandatory and voluntary evacuations.
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Highway 173 runs east from Highway 138 past Silverwood Lake, then north toward the Deep Creek area.
The fire began about noon Sunday east of Highway 138 and Silverwood Lake, and smoke advisories were issued for the Mojave Desert area. The Forest Service is in Unified Command with CalFire, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, San Bernardino County Fire and California Highway Patrol as the Pilot Fire is at 1,500 acres with no containment as of 10 p.m. August 7.
According to ABC 7, the American Red Cross has opened an evacuation center at Oak Hills High School and Devore Animal Shelter in San Bernardino has opened its doors for large animals. Pet owners can bring animals to the San Bernardino County Fairground, located in the 14800 block of 7th Street in Victorville.
The fire was burning a sparsely populated area but not far from some homes in the Summit Valley area. Several helicopters and air tankers are also deployed to deal with the crisis.
The fire conditions are less predictable than in previous years, U.S. Forest Service spokesman John Miller said.
Clouds of gray smoke were visible over a wide area from the High Desert to the Inland Empires Metro area.
A Southern California wildfire dubbed the Pilot Fire has tripled in size overnight, jumping from 1,500 acres to 4,500 acres, authorities said today.
A portion of Highway 138 was closed, and officials urged motorists to avoid the area. The 138 between highways 15 and 18 has been reopened, according to InciWeb.
Some 400 firefighters are working the blaze and more have been ordered.
This is a developing story that will continue to be updated throughout the day.
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“When a hobby drone is flown into a fire area, incident commanders have no choice but to suspend air operations and ground aircraft until the drone is removed from the area”, the NWCG said in a statement. Menacing gray smoke from the fire covered an expanse of the sky from one horizon to another.
