HIGHLAND (AP) – An out-of-control wildfire in the foothills of a national forest east of Los Angeles, United States threatened tens of thousands of buildings and forced hundreds of residents to flee on Sunday amid a days-long heat wave of triple-digit temperatures.
The so-called Line Fire was burning along the edge of the San Bernardino National Forest, about 105 kilometres east of Los Angeles. As of Sunday morning, the blaze had charred about 70 square kilometres of grass and chaparral, leaving a thick cloud of dark smoke blanketing the area.
The fire burned so hot on Saturday that it created its own thunderstorm-like weather systems of pyroculumus clouds, which could bring more challenging conditions such as gusty winds and lightning strikes, according to the National Weather Service.
Firefighters also faced steep terrain, which limited their ability to control the blaze, officials said. The fire remained uncontained on Sunday afternoon.
County officials, who declared an emergency on Saturday evening, issued evacuation orders for Running Springs, Arrowbear Lake, areas east of Highway 330 and other regions.
State firefighters said three firefighters had been injured and more than 35,000 structures were threatened, including single and multi-family homes and commercial buildings. Thunderstorms expected later in the day could make it even more challenging to rein in the fire.
“Afternoon thunderstorms could cause new ignitions and potentially influence activity around the fire perimeter,” state firefighters said in a Sunday morning update.
“Hot and dry conditions mixed with thunderstorms are expected to challenge firefighters for the next few days.”
The affected area is near small mountain towns in the San Bernardino National Forest where Southern California residents ski in the winter and mountain bike in the summer. Running Springs is on the route to the popular ski resort town of Big Bear.
