The SoCal Fire Report: Last Week of July
They say do something you are good at, well Sothern California is good at catching on fire. So we at @socalsteemit would like to provide a centralized hub of the information on fires and natural disasters located in SoCal. Please refer to previous Fire Reports 1 2 3 for any incident prior to this timeline.
Heat
With triple-digit highs hitting in several communities, an excessive heat warnin in its 5th day was scheduled to be in effect until 8 p.n. Friday evening in the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and San Gabriel valleys and both the San Gabriel and Santa Monica mountains, and 8 p.m. Saturday in the Antelope Valley. In most communities, the heat wave will be considered over after Friday, in part because overnight temperatures will decline, becoming more bearable, but daytime temperatures will remain 4-8 degrees above normal through the middle of next week.
Fires
San Diego
The blaze started for unknown reasons off state Route 78 in the San Pasqual Valley between Ramona and the Safari Park shortly before 1:30 p.m. Friday, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. Within 90 minutes, the blaze had burned across more than 200 acres, forcing residential evacuations and the shutdown of part a rural highway, as ground and airborne crews scrambled to corral the fast-moving flames. As the flames spread rapidly to the southeast, authorities shut downstate Route 78 between Bandy Canyon and Ramona Highlands roads as a safety precaution and to expedite the fire fighting operations in the rural area. State Route 78 is expected to remain closed between Bandy Canyon and Haverford roads until further notice, according to Cal Fire and state transportation officials.
The fire broke out around 3 p.m. and had grown to 50 acres by 5 p.m. as it spread to the northwest from Sandia Creek Drive and Rock Mountain Road. By 7:30 p.m., Cal Fire said the fire had grown to 225 acres and was 10-percent contained. Officials believed they had stopped the fire’s forward progress. About 100 buildings were threatened and residents on Sandia Creek and Little Rock Road were ordered to evacuate. Evacuees were being sent to Fallbrook High School on South Stage Coach Road. Multiple roads were closed in the area as 15 engines and at least 100 firefighters battled the blaze on the ground, with multiple helicopters and air tankers also working to combat the flames.
Riverside
A brush fire is burning in the Pinyon Pines area on Thursday, the second blaze to erupt in Riverside County in the last two days. The vegetation fire, named the Ribbon Fire, had burned approximately 200 acres with 5 percent containment, according to Cal Fire and the Riverside County Fire Department on Twitter. Fire officials issued evacuation warnings for the Alpine Village, Pinyon Crest and Pinyon Pines areas. It reportedly originated near Highway 74 and Ribbonwood Drive.
A 32-year-old man has been charged with intentionally starting nine Southern California fires, including one that has chased thousands of residents from mountain communities. All nine fires were set Wednesday (July 25) in the Idyllwild, Anza and Sage areas about 100 miles east of Los Angeles. McGlover was arrested the same day in Hemet after arson investigators linked him to the blazes, according to the Riverside County District Attorney’s office. One blaze became the Cranston Fire that has grown to 18 square miles in the Idyllwild area of the San Jacinto Mountains and was only about three percent contained by Friday (July 27) morning.
The Cranston Fire in Riverside County is on its fourth day on Saturday and has burned over 13,000 acres. The fire, located in the Idyllwild area, is approximately 13,118 acres and 29 percent contained, according to multiple fire agencies working together to fully contain the brush fire. More than 1,700 firefighters are battling the wildfire, which destroyed at least five homes. The emergency personnel represented a slew of agencies, including Cal Fire, the Riverside and Los Angeles County fire departments and the San Bernardino National Forest agency. About 7,000 people are evacuated and several roads remain closed off. Nearly 5,000 structures are threatened.
San Bernardino
Los Angeles
Northern Fires
The closures started noon Wednesday and haven’t reopened to visitors since then. Officials at that time said people with lodging reservations would be notified and either rebooked or given a refund. Recreation.gov, which handles many campground reservations, was giving refunds to campers affected by the fallout of the fire. So what is open in Yosemite? The eastern side of the park, which includes the Tioga Pass Entrance, the Hetch Hetchy area, Tuolumne Meadows and the back country as well as High Sierra Camps. The Ferguson fire started July 13. As of late Friday, the fire had burned more than 46,000 acres and claimed the life of one firefighter. It is 29% contained.
On Saturday morning, Cal Fire reported that the Carr Fire was completely out of control, having almost doubled in size to nearly 81,000 acres and only five percent contained, “active in all directions.” The state has recorded some 500 structures destroyed and lists an additional 5,000 as threatened. The fire has reportedly devastated communities like Shasta, Keswick, and Whiskeytown, and is presently encroaching on the northwestern side of Redding. On Thursday, Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in Shasta County in response to the ongoing Carr fire, which started Monday and has since grown to consume more than 28,000 acres near the city of Redding.
Thank you for this service, it is really great research on all fires small to large. Everyone stay safe out there!
So many fires! Man that's depressing. I'm really glad to hear Hetch Hetchy and Tuolumne meadows haven't burned though. Thank you @csusbgeochem1 for the report!