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Fire Sep 09, 2024
| Smoke from a Bridge Fire hotspot nearly engulfs a nearby fire engine. | Photo courtesy of Cal Fire
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Firefighters achieved 59% containment Friday of the largest active blaze in California, the Bridge Fire that has been holding steady at 54,795 acres the last three days.
The blaze began in San Gabriel Canyon near Glendora and has scorched terrain and destroyed buildings in San Bernardino County.
The Bridge Fire in the Sheep Mountain Wilderness of the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument has destroyed 81 residential, commercial and other buildings, damaged 19 and was threatening 4,409 structures, according to Cal Fire.
No deaths and five unspecified injuries to firefighters were reported.
“Firefighters maintained the day shift’s progress overnight, keeping the fire within its current footprint, securing areas with heat, and strengthening containment lines,” fire officials reported Friday morning. “The lingering marine layer over portions of the fire aided in humidity recoveries in some areas, keeping fire activity minimal.
“Today, crews on the fire’s northern edge will focus on increasing mop-up depth and securing the fire edge by going further into the black and extinguishing any heat signatures,” officials said in a statement. “Firefighters on the northeast flank will work to contain isolated heat remaining in the area while monitoring and patrolling in recently repopulated areas on the east. Feller crews will continue removing hazard trees to improve safety for the public and firefighters in the Mount Baldy Village and Icehouse area.
“On the south flank, crews are continuing to monitor and extinguish any heat sources as they strengthen primary and secondary containment lines to limit the possibility of fire spread, while also mopping up in the area surrounding Tanbark,” the statement continued. “Crews on the west side will work to limit fire spread by constructing indirect containment line from Rattlesnake Peak north and Mount Baden Powell south, tying into Mount Hawkins. At the same time, additional crews will continue mitigating isolated heat from East Fork Road to Rattlesnake Peak.”
Rain was expected Friday into the late afternoon, with a chance of thunderstorms, fire officials said. The storms are likely to be slow moving with lower wind speeds and may cause debris flows in burned areas. Over the weekend, a warming and drying trend will start reducing relative humidity in the area.
Evacuation orders were in effect Friday for north and northwest of the Mount Baldy Ski Resort, Big Pines Canyon Road to the community of Big Pines and the Camp Williams Resort and River Community in East Fork.
Evacuation warnings were in effect for north and northwest of the Mount Baldy Ski Resort, Wrightwood, Mount Baldy Village, Icehouse Canyon Trailhead, north to the Mount Baldy Ski Resort and San Antonio Canyon east to Telegraph Peak.
Shinn Road north to Icehouse Canyon is accessible only to residents.
For updated information on evacuation orders and warnings in areas of LA and San Bernardino counties, visit fire.ca.gov/incidents/2024/9/8/bridge-fire.
Nearly 1,870 personnel were fighting the fire Friday.
The Bridge Fire began around 3 p.m. Sept. 8 near East Fork and Glendora Mountain roads, the U.S. Forest Service reported. The blaze increased Sept. 10 from 4,100 to 49,008 acres and spread from Los Angeles County into San Bernardino County. By early Sept. 13 the fire was 51,884 acres with 3% containment, according to Cal Fire.
On Saturday, the fire grew to 52,960 acres with containment still at just 3%, and on Monday officials reported the fire’s size at 54,690 with 11% containment. Tuesday the burned area increased slightly to 54,795 acres with containment jumping to 25%, then 35% by early Wednesday. The fire remained at 54,795 Friday, but containment jumped to 59%.
The initial report assessed the blaze at 75 acres, but it swelled to 820 acres by 7 a.m. Sept. 9 with 0% containment as a result of high winds and low humidity. By noon that day, the fire had increased to 1,255 acres with containment still at 0%.
Thick brush propelled the wildfire into the San Bernardino County community of Wrightwood and the Mountain High Ski Resort.
LA County Sheriff Robert Luna said Sept. 11 that an off-duty sheriff’s deputy and two people with him were trapped by flames in the fire zone near the Mount Baldy area. They were not injured, but rescue teams were unable to lift them to safety due to heavy smoke, forcing the trio to wait for conditions to improve.
Those three individuals were safely evacuated from the area about 1:30 p.m. Sept. 11 and treated for minor injuries, according to the LA County Sheriff’s Department.
Although the blaze reached the Mountain High Ski Resort, a social media post Wednesday by resort officials said all the main lifts and buildings escaped the flames with little to no damage.
Road closures remained in effect at the following locations:
— Big Pines Highway;
— Big Rock Creek Road;
— Largo Vista Road;
— Mescal Creek Road;
— Panorama Motorway;
— State Route 39 at the base of San Gabriel Canyon;
— Glendora Mountain Road north of Big Dalton Road;
— Mount Baldy Road at Shinn Road open only to residents;
— Mount Baldy at Ice House Canyon Road; and
— Westbound state Route 2 at Flume Canyon Road.
Evacuation centers are at the Jesse Turner Center, 15556 Summit Ave., in Fontana; Antelope Valley Fairgrounds, 2551 W Avenue H in Lancaster; San Bernardino County Fairgrounds, 14800 Seventh St. in Victorville; and the Pomona Fairplex, 601 W. McKinley Ave. — enter Gate 3 at the corner of McKinley and White Avenue.
Animal evacuation centers are at the Devore Animal Shelter for pets and livestock, 19777 Shelter Way in San Bernardino, 909-386-9820 or after hours 800-472-5609; Palmdale Animal Care Center for small animals, 38550 Sierra Highway; Lancaster Animal Care Center for small animals, 5210 W. Ave. I; and the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds for large animals, 2551 W. Ave. H in Lancaster — call 562-706-8581 prior to arrival.
A public meeting took place Sept. 14 at Lytle Creek Community Center, 14082 Center Road in San Bernardino. The meeting was live streamed on the new Angeles National Forest’s YouTube channel.
Gov. Gavin Newsom secured funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for fighting all the fires in California, including the Airport Fire, the Line Fire in San Bernardino County and the Bridge Fire that is scorching LA and San Bernardino counties.
Newsom traveled last week to Highland, where he was briefed at the Line Fire Incident Command Post and visited neighborhoods on the edge of blaze. He proclaimed a state of emergency for the four Southern California counties in response to the wildfires.
The LA County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved an emergency declaration in response to the fire. Local emergency status speeds up funding to the county from state and federal sources. Board Chair Lindsey Horvath initially issued the declaration last week.
On Sept. 12, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors approved an emergency proclamation in response to the fires.
The fire’s cause was under investigation.
Damage inspection teams released interactive maps for residents affected by the fire. For San Bernardino County see https://prepare.sbcounty.gov/bridge-fire/External Link; for LA County visit https://recovery.lacounty.gov/bridgefire/External Link.
Updated Sept. 20, 2024, 11:03 a.m.
