Cooler temperatures help firefighters battle California blazes

Three major wildfires in California have destroyed dozens of homes and forced thousands of people to evacuate, with triple-digit temperatures and strong winds fueling the blazes, officials said.

Cooler weather this week has helped firefighters gain the upper hand.

California is only now heading into the teeth of the wildfire season, but the state has already seen nearly three times as much acreage burn than during all of 2023. The wildfires have threatened tens of thousands of homes and other structures across Southern California since they accelerated during a triple-digit heat wave over the weekend.

As of Friday morning, at least 15 injuries among firefighters and civilians had been reported in the three wildfires, according to Cal Fire. No fatalities have been reported.

Gov. Gavin Newsom sent National Guard troops in to help with evacuations, and the White House said President Biden was monitoring the situation.

The Bridge Fire

In the small community of Wrightwood, about 90 minutes outside Los Angeles, the Bridge Fire has burned more than a dozen homes in the area. It's not yet known what started the fire, which is the third-largest blaze in California this year and the largest active fire in the state.

As of Friday, the fire was still active, but an increase in humidity and lower temperatures have slowed the flames, Cal Fire said. Firefighters have "made great progress on the ground, aided by aircraft to attack the fire aggressively 24 hours per day," and new fire starts in the area have been extinguished.

Despite that progress, the fire is 0% contained as of Friday morning, CBS Los Angeles reported .

Evacuation orders remain in place for many residents, as the fire continues to threaten over 2,500 structures.

Resident Erin Arias said she was racing up the mountain when she got the order to leave earlier this week. She evacuated immediately, grabbing her passport and dog. On Wednesday, she and her husband doused water on the roof of their still-standing home. Their cat was missing, she said.

"It's absolutely scary," Arias said, looking at the burned embers of her neighbor's home. "We're really lucky."

UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain said the fire moved extraordinarily fast across complex terrain, likely giving residents less time to evacuate than usual and surprising even seasoned fire officials.

The Bridge Fire "had to go up mountain sides, burn down slope, jump across valleys, burn across new ridges, and then make it down slope again at least two other times in effectively one burning period," he said.

The Airport Fire

The Airport Fire, which was reportedly sparked by heavy equipment operations, has burned more than 35 square miles of land in the Orange and Riverside counties.

Many evacuation orders related to the fire were lifted and changed to voluntary warnings on Friday, as cooler weather helped firefighters get a handle on the blaze, CBS Los Angeles reported . Fire officials said that crews are building containment lines and extinguishing hot spots.

The fire was 8% contained as of early Friday morning, according to Cal Fire .

Orange County Fire Authority Incident Commander Kevin Fetterman said the blaze has been difficult to tame because of the terrain and dry conditions and because some areas hadn't burned in decades.

Ten firefighters battling the blaze have been treated for minor injuries, according to CBS Los Angeles. Those injuries are mostly heat-related. Two area residents were hospitalized, one with an undisclosed medical issue and one with burn-related injuries.

In El Cariso Village, a community of 250 people along Highway 74 in Riverside County, an Associated Press photographer saw at least 10 homes and several cars engulfed in flames.

When the flames from the Airport Fire arrived at the door of Robert Lucas' home in Riverside County's Lake Elsinore, he said it felt like a "war zone."

"It's pitch black, and fire is coming over the top of me," Lucas told CBS News. "I can't see, it's hot, and I don't know where I'm going."

Lucas said he fought off the flames with a hose for more than 12 hours thanks to a water truck he had purchased in the past.

"It's not a house," Lucas said. "It's a home, its my home. I built it my own self. So that's why I stayed to try and save it."

Despite having now survived three wildfires, Lucas has no second thoughts about living here.

"Absolutely not, this is a great place to live. I'm at the age where I don't want to rebuild this, I want to save it."

The Line Fire

In San Bernardino County, some 65,100 homes and buildings are under threat by the Line Fire .

Residents along the southern edge of Big Bear Lake were told to leave Tuesday. While firefighters initially managed to keep the blaze within the San Bernardino National Forest, winds started to sweep it toward homes — leading to the first set of mandatory evacuation orders being issued Saturday, according to CBS Los Angeles .
Lower temperatures and high moisture levels have helped firefighters, Cal Fire said , but dry vegetation allows the fire to smolder and creep. Cooler temperatures and increased moisture this weekend are expected to aid firefighters, Cal Fire said.

The fire was about 21% contained as of Friday morning, according to Cal Fire.

So far, at least three injuries have been reported from the blaze, according to Cal Fire. At least one of the injured was a firefighter.

Justin Wayne Halstenberg , 34, of Norco was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of starting the fire on Sept. 5. Halstenberg was charged Thursday with nine counts, including one count of aggravated arson a second count of arson causing great bodily injury to a firefighter, the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office announced . Prosecutors said evidence was found inside the 34-year-old's home and truck, and that he allegedly started two other fires that same day.