Wildfires scorch Southern California hillsides, burning homes and injuring 13

Three major wildfires in Southern California expanded dramatically — burning homes, cars and horse stables in hillside communities and injuring at least a dozen people, officials said Wednesday.

The extent of the damage was not immediately known as firefighters battled multiple fires simultaneously.

Evacuation orders expanded from parts of the popular ski town of Big Bear to Los Angeles County.

The three blazes include:

• The Airport Fire in Orange and Riverside Counties has burned nearly 23,000 acres, leaving in its wake charred cars and rubble and pushing into neighboring Riverside County. Authorities said eight firefighters and two residents were injured in the fire, which was sparked by heavy equipment working in the area. As of Wednesday afternoon, it was not contained at all, according to Cal Fire.
• The Line Fire in the San Bernardino National Forest has charred over 34,000 acres and injured three firefighters. Authorities said it was caused by arson and arrested a man Tuesday. Cal Fire said it was about 14% contained as of Wednesday morning
• The Bridge Fire east of Los Angeles grew tenfold in a day, burning over 49,000 acres and burning homes in the mountain community of Wrightwood. The cause of the fire was not immediately known. It was 0% contained as of Wednesday afternoon.

Two of the fires began on Monday, while the Line Fire started last week.
In Southern California, cooler temperatures were expected to potentially start tempering fire activity.

The wildfires have been endangering tens of thousands of homes and other structures across the region after they sprung to life during a triple-digit heat wave that finally broke Wednesday. Other major fires were burning across the West, including in Idaho, Oregon and Nevada, where about 20,000 people had to flee a blaze outside Reno.

California is only now heading into the teeth of the wildfire season but already has seen nearly three times as much acreage burn than during all of 2023.

In the tight-knit community of Wrightwood, trees burned behind homes as authorities implored residents to evacuate. At least five homes were charred and flames ripped through a popular ski area but the resort's buildings remained intact, said Janice Quick, president of Wrightwood's Chamber of Commerce.

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The Bridge Fire was still burning in the area Wednesday, she said, cautioning "the winds have picked up a little bit and something can flip on a dime."

Evacuation orders in Southern California were expanded as the wildfires grew late Tuesday. Alex Luna, a 20-year-old missionary, was among those who heeded the calls to leave Wrightwood.

"It was very, I would say, hellish-like," Luna said late Tuesday. "Ash was falling from the sky like if it was snowing."

In Riverside County, the Airport Fire reached El Cariso Village, a community of 250 people along Highway 74, when some residents scrambled to evacuate on the road clogged with fire trucks and firefighters, and the sky turned dark and began raining ash. An Associated Press photographer saw at least 10 homes and several cars engulfed in flames.

In San Bernardino County, evacuation orders included parts of the popular ski town Big Bear. Some 65,600 homes and buildings were under threat by the Line Fire, nearly double the number from early Tuesday, and residents along the southern edge of Big Bear Lake, a popular destination for anglers, mountain bikers and hikers, were told to leave.

The blaze blanketed the area with a thick cloud of dark smoke, which provided shade for firefighters trying to get ahead of winds expected later on Wednesday, said Fabian Herrera, a spokesperson for the Line Fire, which was 14% contained.

"In certain areas, it gets so thick it blocks the sunlight altogether," Herrera said.

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The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department announced Tuesday the arrest of a man from the town of Norco who was suspected of starting the Line Fire on Sept. 5 in Highland. He was charged with arson and was held in lieu of $80,000 bail. Officials did not specify what was used to start the fire.

On the Nevada border with California near Reno, the Davis Fire destroyed one home and a dozen structures and charred more than 8 square miles of timber and brush along the Sierra Nevada's eastern front. Truckee Meadows Fire District Chief Charles Moore said he ordered off-duty firefighters back to work Wednesday as the National Weather Service forecast winds could gust up to 40 mph, creating "a particularly dangerous situation ... an exceptionally rare event."