Firefighters continued to battle large wildfires raging in multiple spots across the region Monday while new fires emerged as Southern California reached the end of a lengthy heat wave.
There were three wildfires that had burned more than 1,000 acres on Monday with limited containment, including ones in Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties.
The largest fire was in San Bernardino County near Highland called the Line fire. It has charred 21,203 acres and is only 3% contained. The National Guard was mobilized to assist fire officials on Monday, which was also the the first time they have gained some containment in the five-day-old fire.
The size of the fire prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom to send the National Guard to help:
Four water-dropping UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters.
Two C-130 aircraft that can drop 3,000 gallons of fire retardant over an area a quarter of a mile long and 60 feet wide.
Four 20-person hand crews.
One military police company to support the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department with traffic control in evacuated areas.
The fire is burning in the foothills and mountain region east of San Bernardino near Highland and west of Big Bear, near Arrowhead and Running Springs. The fire is between both major roads into mountain communities, highways 330 and 38.
The terrain has been described by firefighters as steep and “treacherous” with no access and massive amounts of fuel to burn.
An estimated 23,200 people were under evacuation orders due to the Line fire and another 94,000 were under evacuation warnings, according to San Bernardino County spokesperson David Wert. The fire also caused the closure of several school districts in the area, including Redlands, Rim of the World and Yucaipa-Calimesa.
Also on Tuesday, a new fire in Orange County quickly spread and threatened homes as it burned in Trabuco Canyon. The Airport fire, given the name because it originated near the site of a radio-control flying club, had already burned more than 1,900 acres and had no containment.
The blaze began about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday along the 32200 block of Trabuco Creek Road, near the Trabuco Flyers Club, according to Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Sean Doran.
Within two hours, residents in communities near the area were given evacuation orders.
Sherry Fankhauser, who lives along Meander Lane, said her and her family had their bags packed and ready to go on Monday.
“Things keep changing as time goes on,” she said. “It got really scary for awhile with the fire moving across the ridge behind the water towers in Robinson Ranch.”
Engine strike teams, hand crews, bulldozers, helicopters, and fixed-wing aircraft were assigned to the fire, including the OCFA’s new Firehawk helicopters.
The cause of the fire was under investigation and no injuries had been reported.
In the San Gabriel Valley, the Bridge fire has been burning since Sunday afternoon and so far has consumed 1,255 acres and it also has zero containment.
The blaze started in the East Fork Road area by Cattle Canyon Bridge around 2:40 p.m. on Sunday, Sept, 8, according to Angeles National Forest officials.
Firefighters planned to continue focusing on protecting structures in the communities in the East Fork area and preventing the blaze from spreading to the south, officials said.
An evacuation order remained in place for Camp Williams and areas near it. The Hacienda Heights Community Center, at 1234 Valencia Ave. in Hacienda Heights, was designated as an evacuation center.
San Gabriel Canyon and East Fork of the San Gabriel River are closed to the public.
While they aren’t in immediate threat, the cities of San Dimas and La Verne put out statements Monday warning residents of potential danger if the fire were to progress toward those communities.
“We urge residents to avoid the fire zone, and those in northern La Verne should review their Ready, Set, Go preparedness plans,” the City of La Verne said in a statement posted to the website X, formerly known as Twitter.
More than 150 firefighters were able to contain a brush fire in the Chatsworth Park area Monday, saving several homes despite difficult conditions that included triple-digit temperatures, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Nicholas Prange said.
While crews initially stopped forward progress of the brush fire, a sudden increase in wind sent embers floating over containment lines and growing the blaze in size, Prange said.
Firefighters were able to stop the blaze at 10 acres by the afternoon, saving several homes in the process, Prange added.
Three firefighters suffering from heat-related illness were taken to a local hospitals in fair condition, Prange said.
Reporters Brian Rokos, Beau Yarbrough, Ruby Gonzales as well as City News Service contributed to this report.
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