California Wildfires 12 000 Evacuated as Rocky Fire Rages Grows - NBC News
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The so-called Deer fire sparked on Friday afternoon and has grown to char about 1,800 acres of Bear Mountain, Kern County Fire Department spokesman Phil Neufeld said. About 100 houses in Bear Valley Springs are under immediate threat from the flames and had to be evacuated, Neufeld said, and the wildfire is working its way through the difficult and steep terrain in the direction of many more homes. "There is a ridge that the fire is working toward and we are working with great effort to keep it from that ridge. If it crests the ridge, it could change the whole dynamic," Neufeld said.
A bull dozer fights wildfire in Kern County in central California, U.S. in this aerial photo posted on social media
He said the state's running drought and a bark beetle infestation has desiccated trees in the area, which could provide ample fuel for the fire already aided by high temperatures and winds. "We have a lot of talent working for us, but we're at the mercy of the elements," Neufeld said. Two fire personnel have suffered minor injuries battling the blaze, Neufeld said, though no homes have been destroyed. The fire is burning in the shadow of a much more massive blaze some 30 miles to the north. That wildfire, dubbed the Erskine Fire, has blackened some 48,000 acres, destroyed at least 150 homes, and left at least two people dead in communities near Lake Isabella.
A fire fighting aircraft drops fire retardant over wildfire in Kern County in central California, U.S. in this aerial photo posted on social media
Firefighters have been able to carve containment lines around 85 percent of the flame's perimeter as of Saturday morning. The wildfire season in drought-stricken California officially began in May but a string of major blazes over the past two weeks marked the first widespread outbreak of intense fires this year. The Erskine and Deer Fires were among 12 major wildfires burning across the state on Saturday. All told, some 4,800 firefighters are battling infernos across the state. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection on Saturday urged residents to exercise "extreme caution" while using fireworks during the July 4th holiday weekend, as the pyrotechnics can spark additional fires.
California wildfire prompts new round of evacuations
The so-called Blue Cut Fire ignited on Tuesday in the mountainous Cajon Pass and has exploded to cover 25,626 acres (10,370 hectares). Firefighters had carved containment lines around only four percent of the blaze by Wednesday night, fire officials said. They described the blaze as unusually fierce, even for a year of intense wildfires in the U.S. West, where years of drought have placed a heavy burden on firefighting resources. "In my 40 years of fighting fire, I've never seen fire behavior so extreme as it was yesterday," Michael Wakoski, the incident commander on the fire, told a news conference on Wednesday. As many as eight wildland fires were burning in California on Wednesday, three of them scorching thousands of acres as firefighters sought help from emergency responders from other states and the California National Guard.
The Blue Cut fire burns near a residential area in Phelan, California
U.S. government forecasters have said Southern California faces a potential threat from major wildfires until December, given the dryness and warm weather. Santa Ana winds, which sweep desert air to California's coast while driving the fires, are due to kick up next month, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal-Fire) spokeswoman Lynne Tolmachoff said by phone. September and October are often the peak of the state's wildfire season. The Blue Cut Fire, named for a narrow gorge north of San Bernardino where it started, threatened the town of Wrightwood near a ski resort and other communities in a partly rural area, authorities said. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Firefighters battle the Blue Cut fire in Phelan, California
Authorities said they were forced to close part of Interstate 15, which runs through the Cajon Pass between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area, and to order about 80,000 residents to evacuate. Thick columns of smoke blocked out the sky above mountain peaks as the fire overran a number of properties, leaving behind barren lots with blackened appliances and vehicles stripped of nearly everything but metal. Louis Penna, a spokesman for the San Bernardino County Fire Department, said in an email an official damage estimate was not available but that dozens of destroyed structures were clearly visible. San Bernardino County Fire Chief Mark Hartwig told reporters: "There will be a lot of families that come home to nothing." The Los Angeles Times reported hundreds of residents were staying in their houses, despite dire warnings from authorities.
A firefighting helicopter maneuvers around power lines and smoke to make a water drop during the Blue Cut fire at the Cajon Pass in San Bernardino County, California
Among them was Nico Santucci, who was standing sentry outside his home in Lytle Creek with his young son by his side. "If the first house catches on fire here or the fire breaks this mountain here, then I'm gone, then we're gone," Santucci said. About 600 miles (970 km) to the northwest, the so-called Clayton Fire was 40 percent contained after charring 4,000 acres in and around the community of Lower Lake and destroying 175 homes and businesses. California had spent $164 million by Aug. 12 to combat wildfires this year, Cal-Fire's Tolmachoff said, not including the Blue Cut or Clayton fires.
Southern California wildfire rages unchecked after evacuations
An inferno scorching swaths of southern California threatened the homes of more than 82,000 people on Wednesday, sending flaming “firenadoes” tearing across the brush and prompting a state of emergency. More than 1,300 firefighters were battling the giant blaze, with more on the way, but they were unable to contain the blaze. Dramatic local TV news footage of the wildfire captured from the front line in the town of Phelan showed tornado-like flaming vortexes — known as “firenadoes” — sent spinning into the air by the unusual ferocity of the blaze. “We have very, very dry brush, thick fuel, it helps move it along very quickly,” Lynne Tolmachoff, spokeswoman for the state firefighting agency Cal Fire, said. “It is very dangerous to the public and also to the firefighters.”
California Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for San Bernardino County, just 100km east of Los Angeles, where the so-called Bluecut Fire was quickly growing, its cause still unclear. The inferno began around 10:30am on Tuesday and has already burned through 10,370 hectares, according to the multi-agency Inciweb information site. The blaze was 4 percent contained. More than 34,500 homes were threatened and 82,640 people were under evacuation warnings. “There is imminent threat to public safety, rail traffic and structures in the Cajon Pass, Lytle Creek, Wrightwood, Oak Hills and surrounding areas,” Inciweb said. From the highway between Wrightwood and Lytle Creek, a thick cloud of smoke could be seen blanketing the entire valley.
Firefighters battle a wildfire on Cajon Boulevard in Keenbrook, California
A dozen fire trucks awaited orders to evacuate Paso Lane, located between several hills that were being devoured by flames, columns of smoke billowing into the sky. “The whole community is being evacuated,” said local firefighter Mike Anderson, who had been battling the blaze with his team for more than 24 straight hours. “The fire is moving very fast straight through Highway 138, it is still growing,” he said. Chon Bribiescas of the US Forest Services said later that the evacuation area was being expanded, with the wind picking up and the temperature soaring to 38oC. “The fire is consuming 100 acres [40.45 hectares] in a few minutes instead of 100 per hour,” she said, adding that many residents had decided against the best advice to remain in their homes. “In California, we cannot force people from their homes, but that means we have firefighters that have to come back to the mandatory evacuation zones instead of fighting the fire,” she said. “I try to tell people that there is nothing in your home that is worth your life.”
At a gas station in the outpost of Pinon Hills, 16km northwest of the fire, Jeannine Yglesia was buying ice with her 24-year-old son. “I have 17 to 18 people staying at my house now, friends and their families that have had to evacuate from Wrightwood,” she said. Gail Nieto, a 65-year-old woman buying groceries, was forced to flee Wrightwood on Tuesday night. “It’s the fourth time in 30 years, but it’s the fastest-growing fire I have ever seen,” she said, trembling. Among equipment already deployed were 152 fire engines, eight air tankers and two Very Large Air Tankers and eight helicopters, including night-flying helicopters. The inferno has claimed one high-profile victim so far: the Summit Inn, an old-fashioned diner on the world-famous Route 66 that counted celebrities Elvis Presley and Clint Eastwood among its clientele.
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