“This fire is still raging out of control”, Tracy Martinez, a public information officer for the San Bernardino County Fire Dept. told the Times, saying it’s unknown how many structures have been lost.
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The firefighters, members of two San Bernardino County engine companies, were able to shelter within a nearby structure.
The fire is shooting flames 80 to 100 feet high.
San Bernardino County Fire Department officials said six firefighters assigned to the northwest area of Cajon Boulevard were trapped while defending homes and assisting with evacuations in the Swarthout Canyon area.
Officials said about 700 firefighters were battling to control the blaze in an area called the Cajon Pass, the latest in a series of wildfires that have blackened almost 300,000 acres (121,400 hectares) of the drought-parched U.S. West. Some structures had already burned but it wasn’t yet clear whether they were homes.
Lower Lake seemed safe Sunday morning after the fire began a day earlier. Hinchcliff says he will be charged in connection with 13 fires.
At the Rhinestone Rose Bed & Breakfast in Wrightwood, Patrick Diamond and Lorretta Thompson were closing up the place ahead of the evacuation order.
The diner, which opened in 1952 at the crest of Route 66, was known for its red leather booths and walls adorned with memorabilia.
The Blue Cut Fire is having widespread effects including in Las Vegas.
About 1,500 residents remain evacuated, all in the greater Lower Lake area, authorities said Wednesday. It destroyed 40 buildings since starting on Saturday, and was only 20 percent contained.
Nearly a decade past, Pashilk was an offender fire fighter while serving time on firearms charges and drug possession, in accordance with California corrections department spokeswoman Vicky Waters.
The area of the fire is about 70 miles east of Los Angeles, affecting Cajon Pass, Lytle Creek, Wrightwood, Oak Hills and surrounding areas.
“We are definitely entering a very hot and dry pattern, and drought conditions play a very large role”, said Dan Berlant, a spokesman for CalFire, the statewide fire agency.
“This fire is burning in significantly different terrains at multiple elevation levels”, Sherwin said.
Dozens of buildings have been destroyed, according to USA Today.
Last summer, during a devastating period from the end of July through September, three major blazes came within a few miles to the east and south of town. “The fire, which is not under control, advances very quickly, it is very unsafe both for the public but also for firemen”, she cautioned.
The Associated Press reported that a freight train was stopped by the fire and its crew had to flee.
A new, wind-driven wildfire is rapidly growing in the mountainous Cajon (kuh-HOHN) Pass area of Southern California near Interstate 15. Underlying it all: A five-year drought that has sapped vegetation of moisture. The blaze 60 miles east of Los Angeles has burned what appear to be several ranch. The blaze was burning along Interstate 15.
The brush fire is 0% contained as of Wednesday morning, according to the San Bernardino National Forest.
Devouring ranchlands, the blaze surged west to the Los Angeles County line and north to the Mojave Desert. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Highway 1 in central California has reopened after a daylong closure for removal of fire-weakened trees north of Big Sur.
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All California state parks in the area have been closed. A California man was arrested Monday on arson charges for allegedly sparking a wildfire that.
