LOS ANGELES (AP) – Thousands of firefighters aided by cooler weather made progress on Saturday against three Southern California wildfires, and officials in northern Nevada were hopeful that almost all evacuees from a blaze there could soon be home.
Authorities have started scaling back evacuations at the largest blaze. The Bridge Fire east of Los Angeles has burned 210 square kilometres, torched at least 33 homes and six cabins and forced the evacuation of 10,000 people. Two firefighters have been injured in the blaze, state fire officials said.
Operations section chief Don Freguila said on Saturday that containment was estimated at three per cent and improving, with nearly 2,500 firefighters working the lines.
He said Saturday’s focus was on the fire’s west flank and northern edge near Wrightwood, where airtankers dropped retardant on the flames in steep, rugged areas inaccessible to ground crews. “A lot of good work. We’re really beating this up and starting to make some good progress,” Freguila said. He said a new spot fire broke out on Friday night near the Mount Baldy ski area along the blaze’s southern edge, burning only about an acre before crews “buttoned it up”.
The Southern California have threatened tens of thousands of homes and other structures since they escalated during a triple-digit heat wave.
