Cooler temperatures help California firefighters battle 3 massive blazes
Thousands of firefighters aided by cooler weather made progress Saturday against three Southern California wildfires, and officials in northern Nevada were hopeful that almost all evacuees from a blaze there could soon be home.
Authorities have started scaling back evacuations at the largest blaze. The Bridge Fire east of Los Angeles has burned 81 square miles, torched at least 33 homes and six cabins and forced the evacuation of 10,000 people. Two firefighters have been injured in the blaze, state fire officials said.
California is only now heading into the teeth of the wildfire season, but the state has already seen nearly three times as much acreage burn than during all of 2023.
Operations section chief Don Freguila said Saturday that containment was estimated at 3% and improving, with nearly 2,500 firefighters working the lines. He said Saturday's focus would be on the fire's west flank and northern edge near Wrightwood, where airtankers dropped retardant on the flames in steep, rugged areas inaccessible to ground crews.
"A lot of good work. We're really beating this up and starting to make some good progress," Freguila said. He said a new spot fire broke out Friday night near the Mount Baldy ski area along the blaze's southern edge, burning only about an acre before crews "buttoned it up."
The Southern California wildfires have threatened tens of thousands of homes and other structures since they escalated during a triple-digit heat wave.
As of Saturday morning, at least 16 injuries among firefighters and civilians had been reported in the three wildfires, according to Cal Fire. No fatalities have been reported.
Gov. Gavin Newsom sent National Guard troops in to help with evacuations, and the White House said President Biden was monitoring the situation.
The Bridge Fire
In the small community of Wrightwood, about 90 minutes outside Los Angeles, the Bridge Fire has burned 53,783 acres and more than a dozen homes in the area. It's not yet known what started the fire, which is the third-largest blaze in California this year and the largest active fire in the state.
As of Friday, the fire was still active, but an increase in humidity and lower temperatures have slowed the flames, Cal Fire said. Firefighters have "made great progress on the ground, aided by aircraft to attack the fire aggressively 24 hours per day," and new fire starts in the area have been extinguished.
Despite that progress, the fire is 5% contained as of Saturday evening, Cal Fire said. There has been "minimal movement" on Saturday, the agency said, but "rugged terrain still presents some challenges."
Evacuation orders remain in place for many residents, as the fire continues to threaten over 2,500 structures.
Resident Erin Arias said she was racing up the mountain when she got the order to leave earlier this week. She evacuated immediately, grabbing her passport and dog. On Wednesday, she and her husband doused water on the roof of their still-standing home. Their cat was missing, she said.
"It's absolutely scary," Arias said, looking at the burned embers of her neighbor's home. "We're really lucky."
UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain said the fire moved extraordinarily fast across complex terrain, likely giving residents less time to evacuate than usual and surprising even seasoned fire officials.
The Bridge Fire "had to go up mountain sides, burn down slope, jump across valleys, burn across new ridges, and then make it down slope again at least two other times in effectively one burning period," he said.
The Airport Fire
The Airport Fire, which was reportedly sparked by heavy equipment operations, has burned more than 36 square miles of land in the Orange and Riverside counties.
Many evacuation orders related to the fire were lifted and changed to voluntary warnings on Friday, as cooler weather helped firefighters get a handle on the blaze, CBS Los Angeles reported. Fire officials said that crews are building containment lines and extinguishing hot spots. Utility companies are working to restore essential services, Cal Fire said Saturday.
The fire was 19% contained as of early Saturday evening, according to Cal Fire.
Orange County Fire Authority Incident Commander Kevin Fetterman said the blaze has been difficult to tame because of the terrain and dry conditions and because some areas hadn't burned in decades.
Eleven firefighters and two residents have been injured in the blaze, according to the Orange County Fire Authority. It destroyed at least 27 cabins in the Holy Jim Canyon area, authorities said.
In El Cariso Village, a community of 250 people along Highway 74 in Riverside County, an Associated Press photographer saw at least 10 homes and several cars engulfed in flames.
When the flames from the Airport Fire arrived at the door of Robert Lucas' home in Riverside County's Lake Elsinore, he said it felt like a "war zone."
"It's pitch black, and fire is coming over the top of me," Lucas told CBS News. "I can't see, it's hot, and I don't know where I'm going."
Lucas said he fought off the flames with a hose for more than 12 hours thanks to a water truck he had purchased in the past.
"It's not a house," Lucas said. "It's a home, its my home. I built it my own self. So that's why I stayed to try and save it."
Despite having now survived three wildfires, Lucas has no second thoughts about living here.
"Absolutely not, this is a great place to live. I'm at the age where I don't want to rebuild this, I want to save it."
The Line Fire
In San Bernardino County, some 65,100 homes and buildings are under threat by the Line Fire, which has burned about 60 square miles.
Residents along the southern edge of Big Bear Lake were told to leave Tuesday. While firefighters initially managed to keep the blaze within the San Bernardino National Forest, winds started to sweep it toward homes — leading to the first set of mandatory evacuation orders being issued Saturday, according to CBS Los Angeles.
Lower temperatures and high moisture levels have helped firefighters, Cal Fire said, but dry vegetation allows the fire to smolder and creep. Cooler temperatures and increased moisture this weekend are expected to aid firefighters, Cal Fire said.
The fire was about 29% contained as of Saturday evening. Three firefighters have been injured while battling the blaze, according to Cal Fire.
The Big Bear Zoo said it moved all its animals to a zoo in the city of Palm Desert to protect them from the wildfires and escalating temperatures.
Justin Wayne Halstenberg, 34, of Norco was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of starting the fire on Sept. 5. Halstenberg was charged Thursday with nine counts, including one count of aggravated arson a second count of arson causing great bodily injury to a firefighter, the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office announced. Prosecutors said evidence was found inside the 34-year-old's home and truck, and that he allegedly started two other fires that same day.
The Davis fire in northern Nevada
The blaze in Nevada near Lake Tahoe broke out last weekend, destroying 14 homes and burning through nearly 9 square miles of timber and brush along the Sierra Nevada's eastern slope. Some 20,000 people were forced from their homes early this week.
Fire officials said there was a 90% chance the last of the evacuees would be able to return to their homes by the end of Saturday.
Containment of the blaze was estimated at 76% Saturday, fire spokeswoman Celeste Prescott said. Some of the 700 crew members should soon be sent off to other fires, she added.
Firefighters were mostly mopping up but anticipated winds picking up in the afternoon so stood ready to attack any spots that flare up.
"We're on the verge of big success here," Truckee Meadows Fire District Chief Charles Moore said.