‘Hellish’ scene unfolds as wildfire races toward community

TRABUCO CANYON, CalifORNIA (AP):

Alex Luna, a 20-year-old missionary, saw the sky turn from a cherry red to black in about 90 minutes as an explosive wildfire raced toward the Southern California mountain community of Wrightwood and authorities implored residents to leave their belongings behind and get out of town.

“It was very, I would say, hellish-like,” Luna said Tuesday night. “It was very just dark. Not a good place to be at that moment. ... Ash was falling from the sky like if it was snowing.”

Luna was among those who heeded the evacuation order that was issued for the community of about 4,500 in the San Gabriel Mountains east of Los Angeles. The Bridge Fire, which had burned 73 square miles (189 square kilometres) as of late Tuesday with no containment, is one of three major wildfires burning in Southern California and endangering tens of thousands of homes and other structures.

The fires sprung to life during a triple-digit heat wave that finally broke Wednesday. The cooler temperatures brought the prospect of firefighters finally making headway against the flames.

MAJOR FIRES

Other major fires were burning across the West, including in Idaho, Oregon and Nevada, where about 20,000 people had to flee a blaze outside Reno.

In Northern California, a fire that started Sunday burned at least 30 homes and commercial buildings and destroyed 40 to 50 vehicles in Clearlake City, 110 miles (117 kilometres) north of San Francisco. Roughly 4,000 people were forced to evacuate.

California is only now heading into the teeth of the wildfire season but already has seen nearly three times as much acreage burn than during all of 2023.

Evacuation orders were expanded Tuesday night in Southern California as the fires grew and included parts of the popular ski town of Big Bear. Some 65,600 homes and buildings were under threat by the Line Fire, including those under mandatory evacuations and those under evacuation warnings, nearly double the number from the previous day.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department announced Tuesday that a Norco man suspected of starting the Line Fire in Highland on September 5 had been arrested and charged with arson. He was held in lieu of $80,000 bail.

Residents along the southern edge of Big Bear Lake were told to leave the area, which is a popular destination for anglers, bikers and hikers. As of late Tuesday, the blaze had charred more than 54 square miles (140 square kilometres) of grass and brush with 14 per cent containment, according to CalFire. It blanketed the area with a thick cloud of dark smoke.

The fire impacted key radio towers, including communication channels for those responding to the fire. Cooler weather could moderate fire activity toward the end of the week, CalFire said in an update. Public safety power shutoffs were anticipated in parts of the Big Bear and Bear Valley areas.

The acrid air prompted several districts in the area to close schools through the end of the week because of safety concerns. Three firefighters have been injured since the blaze was reported Thursday, state fire managers said.