Fast-moving wildfire burns down several homes in San Bernardino, Calif., forces mass evacuations

A fast-moving wildfire tore through a California neighborhood Monday afternoon, quickly engulfing 54 acres and burning multiple homes to the ground.

The blaze, now named the Edgehill Fire, ignited in San Bernardino County’s Little Mountain neighborhood at around 2:40 p.m., fire officials said.

The flames began as a 5-acre brush fire but rapidly grew in size as they engulfed residential streets, covering a steady 54 acres by 5:45 p.m., according to the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District.

Several homes were burnt down to their foundations, devastating aerial footage of the fire shows.

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Residents in the area were ordered to evacuate immediately as authorities worried the Edgehill Fire would overtake their houses. Officials set up a Red Cross evacuation center at Cajon High School for displaced community members.

“Little Mountain is a community that is not unaccustomed to fire,”  fire department spokesperson Eric Sherwin said to KTLA5.

“The residents here are aware of fire and the threat that exists in this community. As engines were pulling up, people were already evacuating out of this area.”

The fire was 25% contained and ceased growing in size by 5:45 p.m., the fire protection district said.

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Four homes were damaged by the flames — including two that were completely leveled, San Bernardino Fire Chief Martin Serna said, according to the San Bernardino Sun.

A Little Mountain resident told KTLA5 that neighbors jumped into action when they learned of the encroaching fire.

“The whole community came and started getting buckets and pouring the water up there,” Chris Herman said.

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“We didn’t want it to spread down here.”

Crews are expected to continue fighting the blaze through the night with fresh resources arriving in the morning, the district added.

Officers with the San Bernardino police department were assisting firefighters Monday and detained a person of interest who they later released.

Arson investigators are still evaluating the scene of the fire to determine where and why it started.

There were no immediate reports of injuries.

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