Three Wildfires Rage in Southern California

The Line Fire in San Bernardino county continues to rage despite heroic efforts from firefighters, destroying nearly 27,000 acres and forcing thousands to flee their homes as two other wildfires erupt in Southern California, the Airport Fire and the Bridge Fire.

The biggest of the three blazes, the Line Fire, was only 5% contained by Monday afternoon and continues to threaten over 65,000 structures with over 9000 of those structures under evacuation orders. According to Cal Fire the fire started Sept. 5 and is a currently active wildfire that has burned 26,426 acres as of 1:51 p.m. on Sept. 10. Three firefighters have been injured in the blaze. Cal Fire has reported the exact number of structures threatened are 65,600 with 9200 under evacuation orders and 56,400 under evacuation warnings.

Evacuation orders have been issued to the following areas in San Bernardino county:

• From Calle Del Rio east to Hwy 38 and from Greenspot Road north to the foothills
• Area east of Orchard Road to Cloverhill Drive and from Highland Ave north to the foothills
• All undeveloped land east of Hwy 330 to Summertrail Place and north of Highland Avenue
• Running Springs
• Arrowbear Lake
• Forest Falls
• Mountain Home Village
• Angelus Oaks, Seven Oaks and campgrounds and cabins in area
• North and east of Highland Avenue and Palm Avenue

Cal Fire has issued evacuation warnings for the following areas:

• From the 210 freeway east to the foothills
• From Greenspot road north to the foothills
• The community of Green Valley Lake north from Highway 18 along Green Valley Lake Road
• Cedar Glen
• Lake Arrowhead
• Twin Peaks
• Crestline
• Valley of Enchantment
• Area from Garnet Street east to Bryant Street and Carter Street north to Mill Creek
• Area of Big Bear Valley from the dam to Cactus Road

Designated evacuation shelters are located here:

• San Bernardino County Fairgrounds, Building 6, 14800 7th Street, Victorville, CA 92395
• Jessie Turner Health and Fitness Community Center, 15556 Summit Ave, Fontana, California 92336

The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services describes an evacuation order as an immediate life threatening event, and people should leave as soon as the order is announced. An evacuation warning is imminent danger to life and property. On the CalOES site it suggests to begin preparing for a possible evacuation order. Cal Fire has a guide to help prepare for an evacuation in the form of a checklist here .

Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Sept. 7 and thanked President Joseph Biden for the quick approval of emergency funds. The funds are part of a Fire Management Assistance Grant that the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, has available for management and control of fires on public land.

Two additional fires have swept across acres of Orange and Los Angeles counties. Covering over 9000 acres in Orange County, the Airport Fire is currently zero percent contained. The blaze started Sept. 9 and is in the areas of Trabuco Canyon and Rose Canyon. The Trabuco Highland Central Park area is under evacuation orders. A temporary evacuation site is located at Lake Forest Sports Complex, 28000 Vista Terrace, Lake Forest, CA 92630.

In Los Angeles County the Bridge Fire has burned more than 4000 acres and is located around the San Gabriel River area, near Camp Bonita Road. The fire ignited Sept. 8 and zero percent contained as of 3:00 p.m.