Southern California Structures Burn as Another Wildfire Erupts
At a Glance
- Fires began in Riverside and San Bernardino overnight Thursday, forcing evacuations.
- The Easy Fire came dangerously close to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on Wednesday.
- Southern California Edison said the fire began near its power lines.
- The Kincade and Getty fires continued to burn.
Residents of north San Bernardino were forced to flee overnight when a fast-moving wildfire engulfed several homes as it raced through neighborhoods early Thursday.
Meanwhile, a second fire forced more evacuations in the Jurupa Valley near Riverside, California.
The Hillside Fire in San Bernardino had burned through 200 acres as of 4 a.m. local time, shutting down a stretch of Highway 18 as it burned out of control. More than 1,300 people were ordered to evacuate.
(MORE: California Wildfire Danger Forecast)
The San Bernardino County Fire Department said six homes and two outbuildings were damaged in the fire, which began shortly after 1:30 a.m.
The evacuation area was north of 50th Street, east of Mayfield Avenue, west of Highway 18 and south of open space areas. Fire officials warned that Santa Ana winds of 20 to 30 mph were expected with gusts up to 60 mph.
The fire in the Jurupa Valley, east of Los Angeles in Riverside County, is being called the 46 Fire. It began about 12:30 a.m. Thursday and had burned 75 acres and was 0% contained as of about 2:45 a.m., according to Cal Fire Riverside.
Evacuations were ordered for residents south of Limonite Avenue, west of Crestmore, east of Van Buren and north of the Santa Ana Riverbottom.
The fire started near where the pursuit of a possible stolen vehicle ended, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. One person was in custody.
The 46 Fire was the second blaze to break out in the Jurupa Valley in less than 24 hours.
The first began Wednesday morning, and it also forced evacuations, including at a nursing home, where several patients in wheelchairs and stretchers were helped out by workers as thick plumes of smoke shot into the sky
, KABC-TV reported. Groups of patients were seen wearing face masks, waiting for transportation near a roadway off-ramp.
The blaze was named the Hill Fire. Early Thursday, it had burned about 300 acres and was 15% contained, according to Cal Fire. One civilian had sustained minor injuries, and a house and mobile home were damaged.
Also on Wednesday, a fast-moving wildfire in Ventura County, California came dangerously close to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
Nearby residents fled with whatever belongings they could carry and scrambled to get horses and other livestock out of harm's way.
Mandatory evacuations were ordered after the blaze, known as the Easy Fire, started just before 7 a.m. Wednesday and burned close to several neighborhoods in the Simi Valley. The fire burned more than 2 square miles within just a few hours. It was 5% contained Thursday morning
The Easy Fire was threatening 7,000 homes affecting 26,000 residents, officials said. Most of those were under the mandatory evacuation order.
"The fire outflanked us very rapidly today, pushed by those 40 to 45 mph winds," said Ventura County Fire Department Assistant Chief Chad Cook, adding that gusts reached 60 mph and aerial operations had to be grounded at times.
Several outbuildings had burned and there were reports of at least one home in flames.
(MORE: How Safe Is the Fire Retardant Being Dumped in California?)
The cause of the fire was under investigation, but Southern California Edison filed a report with state regulators that said it began near power lines owned by the utility, the Associated Press reported.
Melissa Giller, spokeswoman for the Reagan library, said flames started coming up the back part of the museum property about 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Giller described the harrowing scene to The Weather Channel late Wednesday morning.
"It got to about, within about 50 feet, of the Reagan library, to the outskirts. The firefighters threw water drops and on-ground firefighters were able to turn the fire around. But now, from what I’m seeing on the news and what I’m hearing is now the fire coming up the front side, the complete opposite of our property," Giller said.
A handful of employees were onsite monitoring the situation.
"They said that even though the fire is sort of circling the library, they still feel completely safe," Giller said. "The amount of water drops that the fire department is doing … they are dropping so much water that the museum building itself and all of our buildings are completely safe."
More than a million people remained without electricity Wednesday morning due to precautionary shutoffs aimed to prevent wildfires. Pacific Gas and Electric started shutting off power Tuesday to some 540,000 customers in parts of 27 counties, the utility said in a press release. Southern California Edison had cut electricity to about 40,000 customers and was warning another 300,000 could lose power.
All told, estimates say the outages affect more than 1.5 million people when taking into account household size and other factors.
"One of the things that gives us the most concern with this particular kind of weather is debris flying into equipment," Robert Villegas, a Southern California Edison spokesman, told The Weather Channel.
Villegas said most of the affected Southern California customers were in Ventura County where the Easy Fire was burning.
Getty Fire
The Getty Fire began on the west side of the 405 freeway near the Getty Center about 1:30 a.m. Monday, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. In a Tuesday afternoon press conference, Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti said the blaze was started when a tree branch was blown onto a power line by strong winds. The incident was captured on dashcam footage.
By Wednesday, it had spread to just over 1 square mile and threatened more than 7,000 structures. It was almost 40% contained. Most evacuation orders were lifted for all but a small area next to the 405.
Twelve homes were destroyed in the fire and another five were damaged. More than 700 firefighters were on the scene.
Kincade Fire
In Northern California, firefighters appeared to be making headway on the Kincade Fire, which had burned nearly 120 square miles and was 45% contained as of Wednesday night. The fire, which started on Oct. 23 near Geyserville, has destroyed at least 266 structures, including 133 homes.
More than 90,000 structures were threatened and 126,000 people were under evacuation orders, although many were allowed to return home Tuesday and Wednesday.
Two firefighters were injured on Sunday near the fire, including one that had to be airlifted due to his burns. He was taken to the UC Davis Medical Center and was listed in stable condition on Tuesday, according to a Cal Fire official speaking at a morning news conference. The second firefighter sustained minor burn injuries.
Flames from the Hillside Fire consume a home in San Bernardino, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2019. The blaze, which ignited during red flag fire danger warnings, destroyed multiple residences. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
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