Joanna Walters reports for The Guardian
Two fires east of Los Angeles, others still burning or smoldering
The Hillside fire in San Bernardino has so far forced the evacuation of 490 homes and approximately 1,300 people, with the fire at 200 acres and growing.
In neighboring Riverside County, evacuation orders were issued for homes around a 75-acre fire in the city of Jurupa Valley, the AP reports.
Three residences and two outbuildings were confirmed destroyed by the county’s fire department. That fire came after another fire Wednesday in Jurupa Valley forced the evacuation of two mobile home parks and a psychiatric nursing care facility, before the spread was stopped.
“There was one moment when I could see nothing but dark smoke and I was like, ‘We’re going to die,’” said Qiana McCracken, assistant director of nursing for the Riverside Heights Healthcare Center.
After the Easy fire broke out early Wednesday near Simi Valley, northwest of LA, 30,000 people had to evacuate, although some were allowed home last night.
Crews remained at the scene, near the undamaged Reagan presidential library, which is now like an island in a soot-black sea, spokeswoman Melissa Giller said.
Nearby residents had little time to heed evacuation orders yesterday.
Resident Elena Mishkanian was able to gather only some basics. Her son, Troy, 13, netted six pet fish from a tank and put them in pots.
Frightened horses screamed in a nearby barn as Beth Rivera used a garden hose to water down the edges of her home, and friends helped evacuate 11 horses.
Utility Southern California Edison filed a report with state regulators to say the Easy fire began near its power lines. Electrical equipment has sparked some of California’s worst wildfires. SoCal Edison has so far not cut power in the area.
Pacific Gas & Electric, cut power to millions in northern California in the last week, but damaged power lines may still have started the Kincade fire in Sonoma county.
The latest report this morning is that the Kincade fire is now 45% contained.
Second new wildfire breaks out east of Los Angeles
While the new Hillside fire is burning in a northern part of San Bernardino, there is also a fire now burning less than 20 miles away in Jurupa Valley, in Riverside county.
There was a fire in Jurupa Valley yesterday but now another one has broken out, the Associated Press indicates. This is all happening 50 to 60 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, in southern California.
You can check out all the Guardian’s coverage, with news reports, live blogs and comment pieces from the last few days and beyond, by clicking on our California page and taking your pick of stories from our ace reporters on the spot out west as well as top opinion-formers and experts such as Rebecca Solnit and Bill McKibben, discussing issues such as the habitability of the state and the unavoidable role of the climate crisis in the worsening wildfire events.
The Santa Ana winds have been peaking in this 48-hour period and hopefully will tail off tonight.
“This is the last event in our near future. We are not expecting any Santa Anas next week,” weather service meteorologist Kristen Stewart told the Associated Press. But she noted the forecast only extends out seven days. “Once we get past that, all bets are off.”
San Bernardino fire spreading fast
The National Weather Service warns that southern California is still at an extreme risk of fires starting and spreading all day today and into the evening.
The fire that broke out in a northern section of San Bernardino overnight is said to be spreading rapidly. Here is some citizen footage from the early hours.
California Fires Live Updates: Homes Burn in San Bernardino
From The New York Times:
A new blaze known as the Hillside fire broke out in the middle of the night, forcing residents to flee as strong winds drove the flames.
A fast-moving fire is spreading in San Bernardino, burning houses in its path.
Here’s what you need to know:
- Evacuations were ordered in the middle of the night in San Bernardino.
- Firefighters battling the Kincade fire are optimistic.
- Goats may have helped save the Reagan Presidential Library.
- Some Sonoma County residents returned home.
- Maps show where the fires are burning now.
- Santa Ana winds drive flames and imperil crews.
- Utility equipment is suspected in the Easy fire and others.
Evacuations were ordered in the middle of the night in San Bernardino.
Multiple homes were burning in the San Bernardino area after a brush fire ignited early on Thursday and quickly grew to engulf 200 acres, the latest eruption of wildfire in California.
Firefighters got the call about a brush fire near Highway 18 shortly after 1 a.m. local time, according to Chris Prater, a spokesman for the San Bernardino County Fire Department. Strong winds have pushed the blaze into northern San Bernardino.
Homeowners in the area saw orange flames lighting up the hills around the northern edges of the city in the early morning hours, and then cascading down to threaten neighborhoods to the west of Highway 18. Hundreds of homes there have been evacuated.
The highway, which connects the city of San Bernardino with the mountains to the north, was closed because of the fire, according the California Highway Patrol.
“It’s very fast-moving,” Mr. Prater said of the blaze, named the Hillside fire. “We do have very strong winds coming out of the north-northeast, facilitating the fire spread.”
An earlier blaze, the Old Water fire, swept through the area last week. This week, dry conditions and low humidity were making the Hillside fire difficult to fight, Mr. Prater said. “We’ve had these winds for the past few weeks, and it’s dried out the fields.”
Another fire in Jurupa Valley, just southwest of San Bernardino, grew to cover 150 acres on Thursday morning, damaged at least three structures and prompted evacuation orders for about 2,000 homes, said Jeff LaRusso, a spokesman for the Riverside County Fire Department.
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