Published: August 19,2016
Firefighters are making gains in their battle against the massive Blue Cut Fire burning in the hills above San Bernadino, California.
The wildfire had grown to 57 square miles Friday morning but containment jumped from just 4 percent Thursday morning to 26 percent by Friday morning, according to CalFire.
The estimated damage is currently 96 buildings destroyed, 3 damaged, 213 outbuildings destroyed and many vehicles destroyed, according to Inciweb.
The blaze, which started Tuesday morning, grew with a speed and ferocity that startled even veteran firefighters.
"In my 40 years of fighting fire, I've never seen fire behavior so extreme," Incident Commander Mike Wakoski told the AP.Crews have faced extremely dry and breezy conditions throughout this fire and will have another tough day on Friday, said weather.com meteorologist Tom Moore.
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“Weather
conditions today should see temperatures in the 80s even in the higher
elevations," Moore said. "They should also see very low humidity levels
and southwest winds 10 to 20 mph that could gust up to 30 mph later in
the day. These are pretty typical conditions for that area this time of
year, but they’re not exactly friendly to firefighters.”
Some of
the 82,000 residents who were forced from their homes have been told
they can go home, two days after the blaze was sparked.Mandatory evacuations were lifted for in an area of the Mojave Desert near the wildfire's northeast corner, according to the Associated Press. The number of people allowed to go home was unknown on Thursday afternoon.
Late Wednesday evening, the northbound lanes of Interstate 15 were completely reopened in the Cajon Pass after being closed for more than 24 hours. The southbound lanes were reopened Thursday morning.
A structure burns west of Interstate 15 on Tuesday,Aug. 16,2016.(Will Lester/SCNG)
Sheriff's deputies went door to door both Tuesday and Wednesday, asking more than 82,000 residents from nearly 35,000 homes to leave areas under threat. Firefighters concentrated their efforts on saving homes in the mountain communities of Lytle Creek, Wrightwood and Phelan, where many residents stayed despite the warnings.
"From reports that we were hearing, possibly up to half didn't leave," said Lyn Sieliet, a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman, told the AP. "It does change the way that we can fight fire. Now we have to worry about the people in there as well as trying to protect the structures and trying to build a line of defense as the fire comes toward that area."
California Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for the fast-moving wildfire, which was only 4 percent contained as of early Thursday morning.
"It hit hard. It hit fast. It hit with an intensity that we hadn't seen before," San Bernardino County Fire Chief Mark Hartwig told the AP. "There will be a lot of families that come home to nothing."
(MORE: Famous Roadside Diner Destroyed By Blue Cut Fire)
Six firefighters were briefly trapped while defending homes and assisting in evacuations in the Swarthout Canyon area west of Cajon Pass, according to a press release from San Bernardino County Fire. The firefighters were able to shelter in place within a nearby structure, but two sustained minor injuries. They were treated and went back to the fire line.
"We were fully engulfed in smoke," firefighter Cody Anderson told KCBS-TV, as reported by the AP. "It was really hard just to see your hand in front of your face. We just hunkered down and sat there and waited for the fire to blow over."
At Blue Mountain Farms, about 60 miles east of Los Angeles in the town of Phelan, ranchers had to face the reality that a wildfire was burning in their area for the second time in two years.
"Breathing smoke again, just like last year," Shannon Anderson, a partner in the ranch, told the Associated Press in a phone interview. "It's raining ash."
More than 1,500 firefighters are battling the blaze, according to InciWeb. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
"We’re seeing very aggressive fire behavior, burning through the brush," U.S. Forest Service spokesman Bob Poole told KTLA.com. "This is difficult to get in front of this and try to corral it."
— Francine Orr/LATimes (@francineorr) August 17, 2016
Charges Filed in Northern California's Clayton Fire
A man has been charged in connection with a number of California wildfires, including the Clayton fire in northern California, where more than 175 buildings have been destroyed over the past few days.Damin Anthony Pashilk, 40, of Clearlake, California, was arrested on 17 counts of arson in connection with several fires in Lake County over the past year, including the Clayton fire, Lake County Sheriff Brian Martin and Ken Pimlott, director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, told the AP.
Pashilk is currently being held at the Lake County jail with bail set at $5 million, awaiting his next court appearance on Sept. 7, the Napa Valley Register reports. Scott McLean, spokesman for Cal Fire, the agency investigating the blaze called Pashilk a "serial arsonist."
"We are very confident that this is our guy," he said.
Brian Martin, Lake County sheriff, told the Register that authorities "have concern for (Pashilk's) safety. There are a lot of emotional responses, a lot of chatter on social media." Some Lake County residents attending a community meeting Monday night yelled "hang him" when officials announced Pashilk's arrest.
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Damin
Pashilk, 40, of Clearlake, California, has been arrested on 17 counts
of arson in connection with several wildfires set in Lake County,
including the Clayton fire, which has destroyed more than 175 buildings.
(AP Photo/Josh Edelson)
“We are all devastated to have so much destruction,” Melissa Fulton, chief executive officer of the Lake County Chamber of Commerce, told the Sacramento Bee. “We feel we were put through hell last year and now we are in it again.”
Around 4,000 evacuees were allowed to return to Clearlake Tuesday and more followed on Wednesday, according to the Associated Press.
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Cal Fire reported Friday morning that the Clayton fire has consumed just under 4,000 acres and is now 65 percent contained.
The blaze was first reported just before 5 p.m. Saturday in the area of Clayton Creek Road and Highway 29, according to the AP.
The flames jumped a road Sunday and moved into the town of 1,200, where a post office, a winery, a Habitat for Humanity office and several other businesses were destroyed. The high school is still unharmed, according to SFGate.com, but the sports fields were burned, and classes have been canceled indefinitely.
“When I saw the fire coming over the ridge, I knew we didn’t have a chance,” David Barreda, who lost his home to the inferno, told SFGate.com.
Although there has been massive loss of property in this fire, no injuries have been reported.
Chimney Fire Continues to Grow in Central California
A wildfire burning in San Luis Obispo County, California has grown to more than 11,900 acres, destroyed at least 30 homes and forced the evacuation of hundreds, according to Cal Fire.The Chimney Fire, which began around 4 p.m. on Saturday southwest of Lake Nacimiento in the community of Running Deer Ranch, was 33 percent contained as of Thursday morning, according to Cal Fire.
Sgt. Jeff Nichols of the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office told The Tribune that some 250 homes have been evacuated in the area.
Cal Fire reports that more than 2,400 personnel are tackling the blaze.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
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