Firefighters make progress in Calif. blaze battle
Firefighters make progress in Calif. blaze battle
Slow movement of fires spanning 60,000 acres a positive sign, official says
The Associated Press
Updated: 7:20 p.m. CT July 14, 2006
YUCCA VALLEY, Calif. - Thousands of firefighters aided by aircraft worked Friday in fierce heat to keep two giant wildfires from gaining a foothold in the heavily populated San Bernardino Mountains where millions of trees killed by drought and bark beetles could provide explosive fuel.
Slow movement of the 53,000-acre Sawtooth fire and wind pushing the nearby 8,300-acre Millard fire away from the mountaintop Big Bear resort region were positive signs, even though heavy smoke filled the sky.
It was unclear if any portions of the blazes had joined in the rugged landscape, but scenarios in which a merger would seriously increase fire activity were believed unlikely, U.S. Forest Service officials said.
‘A real critical piece of line’
Some 2,700 firefighters labored in triple-digit heat. Fire officials said it was still important to establish a line to keep flames from moving into the wilderness of dead trees on the slopes leading up to resort communities.
“It’s a real critical piece of line, if we can construct it and hold it,” California Department of Forestry Capt. James Yazloff said. “It’s very critical we don’t allow it to go up to Big Bear.”
Several thousand people live in and around Big Bear Lake, which went through its last big scare in Southern California’s onslaught of devastating wildfires in 2003.
The Sawtooth blaze, which has destroyed 45 homes and 118 outbuildings since being ignited by lightning a week ago on the Mojave Desert floor below the eastern flank of the San Bernardinos, was 20 percent contained.
It still was a potential threat to 1,500 homes, 1,500 outbuildings and about 50 commercial buildings, said Kristel Johnson of the U.S. Forest Service.
“It’s still just kind of an ongoing battle. There’s definitely some progress. It’s not moving all that fast,” said Don Roberts, a Joshua Tree National Park ranger serving as a fire information officer.
Little chance of merger
Slightly southwest of the Sawtooth, the Millard fire, also started by lightning, already was in timber in the San Gorgonio Wilderness.
But it was south of Big Bear and winds gusting to 25 mph were pushing it away from that area, said Jim Wilkins, a Forest Service spokesman. However, about 75 scattered homes and a fish hatchery were in its path.
On Thursday, authorities told Big Bear residents that there was little chance the fire would reach their homes. But just in case, sheriff’s deputies warned residents east of Big Bear Lake that they should be ready to evacuate.
Concerns about what would happen if the fires merged focused on the possibility of an ultra-hot fire front that could create its own unpredictable winds.
“If they come together, there’s a potential for significant fire behavior,” said Glenn Barley, a spokesman with the California Department of Forestry. “It can make for strong, erratic winds.”
But a merger also could essentially create firebreaks by quickly burning up brush in each fire’s path.
“They’re going to burn each other out in that area,” predicted Tracey Martinez, a San Bernardino County Fire Department spokeswoman.
A chance of thunderstorms over the weekend brought concern that new blazes might erupt in the parched stretches of the Mojave Desert and foothills.
Slow movement of fires spanning 60,000 acres a positive sign, official says
The Associated Press
Updated: 7:20 p.m. CT July 14, 2006
YUCCA VALLEY, Calif. - Thousands of firefighters aided by aircraft worked Friday in fierce heat to keep two giant wildfires from gaining a foothold in the heavily populated San Bernardino Mountains where millions of trees killed by drought and bark beetles could provide explosive fuel.
Slow movement of the 53,000-acre Sawtooth fire and wind pushing the nearby 8,300-acre Millard fire away from the mountaintop Big Bear resort region were positive signs, even though heavy smoke filled the sky.
It was unclear if any portions of the blazes had joined in the rugged landscape, but scenarios in which a merger would seriously increase fire activity were believed unlikely, U.S. Forest Service officials said.
‘A real critical piece of line’
Some 2,700 firefighters labored in triple-digit heat. Fire officials said it was still important to establish a line to keep flames from moving into the wilderness of dead trees on the slopes leading up to resort communities.
“It’s a real critical piece of line, if we can construct it and hold it,” California Department of Forestry Capt. James Yazloff said. “It’s very critical we don’t allow it to go up to Big Bear.”
Several thousand people live in and around Big Bear Lake, which went through its last big scare in Southern California’s onslaught of devastating wildfires in 2003.
The Sawtooth blaze, which has destroyed 45 homes and 118 outbuildings since being ignited by lightning a week ago on the Mojave Desert floor below the eastern flank of the San Bernardinos, was 20 percent contained.
It still was a potential threat to 1,500 homes, 1,500 outbuildings and about 50 commercial buildings, said Kristel Johnson of the U.S. Forest Service.
“It’s still just kind of an ongoing battle. There’s definitely some progress. It’s not moving all that fast,” said Don Roberts, a Joshua Tree National Park ranger serving as a fire information officer.
Little chance of merger
Slightly southwest of the Sawtooth, the Millard fire, also started by lightning, already was in timber in the San Gorgonio Wilderness.
But it was south of Big Bear and winds gusting to 25 mph were pushing it away from that area, said Jim Wilkins, a Forest Service spokesman. However, about 75 scattered homes and a fish hatchery were in its path.
On Thursday, authorities told Big Bear residents that there was little chance the fire would reach their homes. But just in case, sheriff’s deputies warned residents east of Big Bear Lake that they should be ready to evacuate.
Concerns about what would happen if the fires merged focused on the possibility of an ultra-hot fire front that could create its own unpredictable winds.
“If they come together, there’s a potential for significant fire behavior,” said Glenn Barley, a spokesman with the California Department of Forestry. “It can make for strong, erratic winds.”
But a merger also could essentially create firebreaks by quickly burning up brush in each fire’s path.
“They’re going to burn each other out in that area,” predicted Tracey Martinez, a San Bernardino County Fire Department spokeswoman.
A chance of thunderstorms over the weekend brought concern that new blazes might erupt in the parched stretches of the Mojave Desert and foothills.
posted by shummer60 at Friday, July 14, 2006
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