San Bernardino County Sun - 23 hours ago
Press-Enterprise - 1 day ago
24,000-Acre Lake Fire Flares Up in San Bernardino Mountains; New Evacuations Ordered
Firefighters are seen battling the Lake Fire in the San Bernardino National Forest. (Credit: Loudlabs)
New evacuation orders were issued after a week-long brush fire that has burned more than 36 square miles in the San Bernarndino Mountains south of Big Bear flared up on Wednesday, authorities said.
Whipped by strong winds, the Lake Fire rapidly spread during the afternoon hours, prompting mandatory evacuations to be ordered in the areas of Burns Canyon and Rimrock, according to InciWeb, a website maintained by the U.S. Forest Service and other federal agencies.
The community of Pioneertown has also been placed under a voluntary evacuation order.
A shelter for evacuees is operating at Copper Mountain College, which is located at 6162 Rotary Way in Yucca Valley, InciWeb stated.
Additionally, some 360 campers were evacuated from the Camp Oakes in the Lake Williams area as a precautionary measure, according to the website.
The campers were evacuated to an American Red Cross evacuation center located at 40946 Big Bear Blvd. — the Big Bear Community Church — in the city of Big Bear.
Since the fire broke out on June 17, numerous evacuations have been ordered and remained in effect in all areas east of Angelus Oaks, including Barton Flats, Seven Oaks, Heart Bar and homes off Rainbow Lane.
Additionally, all cabins and campgrounds in the South Fork area were also under evacuation orders.
Highway 38 between Angelus Oaks and Lake Williams would also remain closed indefinitely because of reduced visibility and firefighting efforts, according to InciWeb.
The blaze has also prompted officials to close all hiking trails into the San Gorgonio Wilderness area, as well as the Pacific Crest Trail from Whitewater Preserve to Onyx Summit.
The Lake Fire began in the Barton Flats area and later spread into the San Gorgonio Wilderness. According to the latest figures provided by the San Bernardino National Forest 23,199 on Thursday morning, the wildfire has burned 23, acres and is just 21 percent contained.
The previous evening, the acreage was estimated at 20,875, or more than 32 square miles, was was at 27 percent containment.
Although hundreds of structures were threatened by the massive blaze, no buildings have been damaged or destroyed.
Four firefighters have been injured battling the blaze, according to InciWeb which did not provide information about the extent of the injuries and the conditions of the firefighters.
The cause of the massive blaze remained under investigation.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
The San Bernardino National Forest tweeted this map of the Lake Fire on June 25, 2015.
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