Southern California Blue Cut Fire Rages Unchecked After Mass Evacuations
"In my 40 years of fighting fire, I've never seen fire behavior so extreme as it was yesterday."
Reuters
LOADINGERROR LOADING
A Southern California wildfire raged unchecked in thick brush on Wednesday after destroying an unknown number of houses near a highway corridor between Los Angeles and Las Vegas and forcing as many as 80,000 residents to flee their homes, officials said.
The so-called Blue Cut Fire ignited on Tuesday in the mountainous Cajon Pass and quickly ballooned to 30,000 acres (12,140 hectares), putting firefighters on the defensive as they made a stand in front of homes and businesses.
Advertisement
The blaze is the latest in an intense series of wildfires this year in the U.S. West, where years of drought have dried trees and brush.
“It’s to the point where explosive fire growth is the new normal this year,” Glenn Barley, a fire chief with the San Bernardino unit of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal-Fire) said at a news conference Wednesday.
Given the dryness and ongoing warm weather, U.S. government forecasters have said Southern California faces a potential threat from major wildfires until December.
Advertisement
The Blue Cut Fire, named for a narrow gorge north of San Bernardino where it started, was zero percent contained as it 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.
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 horse owners in the area scrambled to lead their animals onto trailers.
Local television station KNBC showed video of several homes engulfed in flames. Officials confirmed houses were gutted by the blaze but could not say how many.
Advertisement
“There will be a lot of families that come home to nothing,” San Bernardino County Fire Chief Mark Hartwig told reporters.
The Los Angeles Times reported hundreds of residents of Wrightwood were staying in their houses, despite dire warnings from authorities.
“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, said Wednesday.
About 600 miles (970 km) to the northwest, the so-called Clayton Fire was 40 percent contained on Wednesday morning after charring 4,000 acres in and around the community of Lower Lake and destroying 175 homes and businesses.
Advertisement
(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles, Curtis Skinner in San Francisco and Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, Calif.; Editing by Alistair Bell and Matthew Lewis)
Support HuffPost
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
At HuffPost, we believe that everyone needs high-quality journalism, but we understand that not everyone can afford to pay for expensive news subscriptions. That is why we are committed to providing deeply reported, carefully fact-checked news that is freely accessible to everyone.
Whether you come to HuffPost for updates on the 2024 presidential race, hard-hitting investigations into critical issues facing our country today, or trending stories that make you laugh, we appreciate you. The truth is, news costs money to produce, and we are proud that we have never put our stories behind an expensive paywall.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you’ll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.