SoCal Wildfire Burns Seven Homes

An 1,100-acre wildfire has raced through the Southern California desert community of Morongo Valley, burning at least seven homes and threatening up to 700.

Fire officials say the blaze began when flames spread from a house fire.

San Bernardino County Fire Department spokesman Dave Dowling says the fire's burning in a "very inhabited area" about 100 miles east of Los Angeles. But firefighters say most homeowners have cleared brush away from their scattered homes, which sit on large lots.

The fire, aided by temperatures topping 100 degrees, created flames up to 30 feet high. About 200 firefighters were on scene, and they were supported by six airplanes and two helicopters.

About 200 homes were immediately threatened and as many as 700 more were in the fire's path, county fire Battalion Chief Paul Summers said.

"Because of the winter rains, we've had a grass crop out there this year," Dowling said. "That's where we're having the trouble."

Gene Rotstein, owner of Morongo Hardware, and his wife fled their home on Paradise Avenue, and said they were "bombed" with fire retardant from helicopters as they scrambled to leave.

"The last I saw as I was evacuated, it was burning the house above mine, about 50 feet away," Rotstein, 67, said from his store, where he and his wife gathered with their dogs.

The blaze in Morongo Valley began spreading after a house caught fire, said Bill Peters, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Flames later reached into Joshua Tree National Park, home to the famous spiky plants some thousands of years old.

Sharon Aiken said parents came to evacuate children from her day-care center. One parent couldn't get out of her house, because the fire was two blocks away, she said.

"The parents were all panicked, calling. I let them know that we were in no danger," Aiken said. "But the wind is really whipping up here."

A second fire in California broke out about 35 miles away and burned 400 acres but was not threatening any structures, authorities said.