Some evacuations lifted in Southern California fire; I-15 reopens
HESPERIA, Calif. -- Firefighters were gaining the upper hand Saturday on a wildfire that erupted on the main interstate between Southern California and Las Vegas, allowing officials to lift evacuation orders for half of 1,500 homes and reopen the freeway to holiday weekend traffic.
The fire began Friday afternoon on the center divider of Interstate 15 in the Cajon Pass. It quickly grew to 1,100 acres, or nearly 2 square miles, jumping the freeway and burning chaparral in rolling hills that form the nearby San Bernardino National Forest and rural areas of San Bernardino County.
Nearly 750 firefighters surrounded 30 percent of the blaze, U.S. Forest Service spokesman John Miller said Saturday. There were no open flames and very little smoke.
"Because this fire burned between homes, before we call it contained we have to be very careful to keep the heat down and make sure it doesn't flare up again," Miller said. "Hopefully by this afternoon we'll be able to increase that containment number significantly."
The fire destroyed two mobile homes and damaged two other structures. A firefighter suffered heat exhaustion and another suffered a medical-related injury, he said.
The fire was fueled by winds up to 15 mph and 90 degree temperatures - conditions that were predicted again Saturday.
An evacuation was ordered as the fire moved northwest toward large ranch homes in the Oak Hills area. Fire crews were placed to defend the houses as the flames came within yards of some of them.
By Friday evening, authorities determined it was safe for those who live on the north and west side of the fire to come back. Miller said firefighters were focused on putting out hot spots and completing containment lines through the night.
Victorville resident Tom Woods told KCAL-TV the Oak Hills area contains hundreds of recently built luxury horse properties spread over the hills, some of which were worth $1 million.
The fire initially closed all freeway lanes, snarling traffic as drivers struggled to start their Labor Day weekend getaways. Nearly all northbound and southbound lanes were reopened by evening.
More than a dozen aircraft, including a DC-10 jumbo jet tanker, were called in to help fight the flames.
Air quality officials predicted that smoke from the fire would cause problems for people with health sensitivities in the San Bernardino and San Gabriel mountain areas. The South Coast Air Quality Management District urged them to avoid unnecessary outdoor activities.
blaze 75 percent contained
Firefighters expect containment during the weekend of a lightning-sparked wildfire that grew Friday to almost 19 square miles in eastern Nevada.
Firefighters reached 75 percent containment Friday and expected containment by nightfall today of the Vigo Fire in and around the remote Meadow Valley Wilderness area some 20 miles south of the town of Caliente, Bureau of Land Management spokesman Chris Hanefeld in Ely said.
"The fire continues to creep and smolder," Hanefeld said, adding that there had been no injuries reported among the 180 state, federal and local firefighters and support personnel working to quell the fire. No structures or homes were threatened.
The fire topped 12,000 acres Thursday after being sparked Monday in the Kane Springs area about 100 miles northeast of Las Vegas, Hanefeld said.
THE Associated Press
officials letting fire burn
A fire in the Sheep Mountains was creating a plume of smoke visible from the Las Vegas Valley on Friday, but officials were not concerned about the blaze.
Officials were letting the slow-moving fire burn because it was at a high elevation, and no structures or private property were at risk. It was consuming grass, weeds and brush.
"At this point it's very beneficial because it's clearing things out," U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokesman Dan Balduini said Friday.
The blaze was in rugged terrain about 7,000 in elevation in a remote part of the Desert National Wildlife Refuge north of Las Vegas. The fire was estimated to be less than 50 acres.
Officials speculated the fire was caused by one of last week's thunderstorms .
Visitors were still being permitted into the refuge.
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
