Posted on 10/22/2007 9:59:31 AM PDT by Smogger
9:03 a.m.: Fires in Lake Arrowhead prompt evacuations
By Stacia Glenn
LAKE ARROWHEAD - Two fires are raging in the mountains, forcing hundreds of people from their homes. A wildfire started at 5 a.m. in Grass Valley just north of Lake Arrowhead and has burned more than 100 acres. Mandatory evacuations are in place for Deer Lodge Park, north of Aleutian Drive; and all streets north of Brentwood Drive.
There are voluntary evacuations for North Lake Arrowhead, along Grass Valley Road, Twin Peaks and Rim Forest.
A second fire, dubbed the Slide Fire, broke out in Green Valley Lake, where there is also a mandatory evacuation.
All highways west of Big Bear Dam are closed.
9:27 a.m.: Fire ecologist: Wind stirred Butler II fire
By George Watson
UCR Riverside Prof. Richard Minnich said it appears the Butler II wildfire has restarted because of the winds. "It looks like there are two prongs moving southwest," Minnich said. "One is by (Big Bear )Dam, and the other is near Green Valley Lake where the fire stopped before."
Making his assessments by viewing satellite imagery, Minnich said he is particularly concerned about Running Springs. Wind could push it through the footprint of the 1970 Bear Fire, Minnich said, and then on to that community.
"If it reaches Running Springs, that whole town is in trouble," he said.
With so many fires burning throughout Southern California today, Minnich added, "Hundreds of homes are going to burn today. Right now, the issue is the firefighters are spread too thinly."
(Excerpt) Read more at dailybulletin.com ...
I don’t know much about the area but if you know what is going to happen, why not try some preemptive action?
Too dry and dangerous even without the Santa Anna to try controlled burns. They only do it when they are desperate. This fire is in a dense moutainous Area.
You know this is in Kalifornia, right? Enviro-whackos would never allow such a thing!...............
I don’t know much about the area but if you know what is going to happen, why not try some preemptive action?
Good questions, but I wonder if the greens and such have tied the state up environmentally to where things like this aren't an option.
Mandatory evacuations for Running Springs, Arrowbear, and Green Valley.
I used to live in the Villa’s off of HY 18 in Arrowhead. Does anyone know any news about this area?
They are really not reporting on this fire yet. Fires in Malibu are more glamorous.
I used to live in area. Fire rules are extremely enforced.
Well, I am in Tenn., and miss my mountains.
All my California relatives wonder how we can live in Hurricane Alley - our response is that at least we get some warning. No wildfires, mudslides, or earthquakes.
Residents lined up at a Shell gas station in Twin Peaks, some with their vehicles packed with their belongings. Tamra Porter, 23, had her vehicle packed up and was getting gas. She planned to head to Jensen's grocery store in Blue Jay where she expected to meet up with her husband, Josh, a worker at the store.
They planned to go stay at Josh Porter's mother's house in Menifee. The Porters were under voluntary evacuation. Bruce Hicks, 71, who was filling up his tank at the station said he thought the fire was burning away from his home. "I'm not going until they tell me I have to go," he said.
Liberals should be forced by Algore to rebuild smaller, carbon-free homes!
BUMP!
Ya but, there isn’t blue tarps and plywood window treatments!
Now I am getting homesick. Jensen’s grocery makes the best sheapheard bread in the country. Waaaaaaaaa I wanna go home!
“”All my California relatives wonder how we can live in Hurricane Alley - our response is that at least we get some warning. No wildfires, mudslides, or earthquakes.””
I always said the same thing about warnings/lack of in Southern CA. We have been through all of that.....Left Southern CA last year for GA - now we’re in time for the drought!
Carolyn
We are about 18 inches low for the year, but it is raining for the first time in a long time today.
I am in West Tenn., so it is flat as a pancake here. The Blue ridge’s are beautiful, and so are the Smokey’s in East Tenn.
CDF spokesman Glenn Barley said there are reports that structures are on fire as a result of both mountain blazes but they don't know exactly where yet.
Air support cannot be used because winds are too high, Barley said.
I know this is very serious, but there was a joke out around the time when Compton and other areas of LA were rioting:
The four seasons of Southern California:
Riot
Mudslides
Earthquake
Wildfires
Carolyn
What a shame. Lake Arrowhead is such a beautiful area.
Perfect storm.
Similar cause as the de-institutionalization of the mentally ill. It is a combination of fiscal conservatism and lefty politics and we get the worst of both worlds.
Huh? You say?
Well, try this. Enviros say “Let it burn when it burns. End control burns and let nature do it’s thing.” Conservatives say “Control burns cost money. Save money and let the enviros sort it out when it burns their mountain homes down.” Meanwhile the average Joe gets it in the shorts.
What needs done? Allow more logging to fund the control burns necessary to protect lives and property. The trees will grow back, the underbrush will get cleared away and no more disastrous fires (like this year’s 200,000 acre fire in Santa Barbara county [where I live] or the one now ongoing in Malibu. BTW the one in Malibu is going to be a real _itch. If we’re not careful some people are going to get killed. And there are others springing up elsewhere in the state which will stretch resources. Say a prayer for the firemen, eh?
That is exactly what has happened.
Best news source I know for this fire is at Rim Of the World:
Scanner transcripts:
http://old.rimoftheworld.net/incidents/
News stories
http://www.rimoftheworld.net/
Right now, this is the only thing going on their website...they have stripped it down to basics.
Last I heard, at least 20 structures have burned.
A new fire has ignited in Rim Forest. CDF officials say it started near Scenic and Bear Springs Drive.
The blaze was reported around 10:45 a.m. No other details are available at the moment.
A couple of lessons we had reaffirmed after the Northridge quake, and still stick with:
1 - Keep one of the cars at least 3/4 full...no exception.
2 - Keep several hundred bucks of green cash money tucked away.
Thanks. I’m on the SoCalFire yahoo group. If I see something (this is like one of the best news sources for fire in SoCal), I’ll pass it on
Added some keywords...pinging others;
San Bernardino county is reporting a new fire The Rim fire, and says it has recalled it firefighters from Malibu. They are stretched pretty thin.
You have the order wrong;
wildfires (Santa Anas)
mudslides (liquefaction)
earthquakes (power failures, destruction of storefronts and homes, fear and confusion)
riots (shopping spree)
More evacuations:
Mandatory evacuations have been called for in Twin Peaks
and the Five Corners.
Highway 330 is shut down for motorists heading up the mountain to Running Springs.
Highway 18 is also closed to traffic from Waterman to Crestline.
how do they call this a Butler II restart? the same arsonist started it? that fire was assuredly out from last month.
Butler III, the sequel
They are calling it the Slide, Green Valley, and Rim fires ;-)
I suspect such fires as these are terrorism. But how to prove?
****************************San Bernandino Fires **************************
************************
Fire north of Lake Arrowhead.
Immediate Mandatory Evacuations for the entire Deer Lodge Park Area, north of Aleutian.
North Lake Arrowhead is under mandatory evacuation, all areas listed below
North of the Lake Arrowhead Dam on SR 173
North of of North Bay and State Highway 189
Grass Valley Road north of Club House Drive
Communities of Twin Peaks and Rim Forest are under voluntary evacuation.
Evacuation Center has moved from Charles Hoffman Elementary to the Jerry Lewis Community Center at 7790 Center in Highland.
State Highway 18 is closed from 40th/Waterman to the Big Bear Dam
State Highway 330 is closed at Highland
State Highway 138 is Closed at State Highway 173
| Incident Type | Wildland Fire |
|---|---|
| Cause | Under Investigation |
| Date of Origin | 10/22/2007 at 0508 hrs. |
| Location | Deer Lodge Park |
| Incident Commander | Randy Clauson |
| Total Personnel | Not available |
|---|---|
| Size | 300 acres |
| Fuels Involved |
Grass and Timber |
| Fire Behavior |
Severe |
| Significant Events |
Not available |
| Planned Actions |
Not available |
|---|---|
| Remarks |
Homes have been lost. Mandatory Evaucations for Green Valley, Arrowbear, and Running Springs. |
| Current Wind Conditions | 20-30 mph NE |
|---|---|
| Current Temperature | Not available |
| Current Humidity | Not available |
Mandatory Evacuation for Green Valley Lake, Arrowbear, and Running Springs. Evauaction Center at Jerry Lewis Community Center, 7793 Central Ave Highland, CA
| Incident Type | Wildland Fire |
|---|---|
| Cause | Under Investigation |
| Date of Origin | Not available |
| Location | Green Valley Lake, Near Runnin Springs |
| Incident Commander | Betty Ashe |
| Total Personnel | Not available |
|---|---|
| Size | 150 acres |
| Fuels Involved |
Grass And Timber |
| Fire Behavior |
Extreme |
| Significant Events |
Not available |
| Planned Actions |
Not available |
|---|---|
| Remarks |
Mandatory Evacuations for Green Valley Lake, Arrowbear, Running Springs |
| Current Wind Conditions | 30 mph NE |
|---|---|
| Current Temperature | Not available |
| Current Humidity | Not available |
Thanks I know all of these places.
A fire has been reported at the interchange of the 15 Freeway and the 215 Freeway in the Devore area. There's also an unconfirmed report of a fire off of the 210 Freeway at Sierra Avenue in Fontana.
North and southbound lanes of the 15 Freeway are closed due to the fire. The wind in the area was howling and debris -- everything from pebbles to chunks of trees and limbs -- was blowing around.
A piece of flying debris broke out the back window of staff photographer Walt Weis' Kia Rio at the scene. Weis was at the scene shooting photos of the fire and was not hurt.
Thanks, you are doing a great job!
They are finally showing footage from Arrowhead. Doesn’t look good. 1500 homes threatened they are already losing some homes. They are evacuating Arrowhead.
Good question, I'll answer that.
California has more acreage of steep, super rugged geography than many states have land. Many of these areas are totally inaccessible for most equipment, even for those on foot, add in very strong winds, with embers that can travel at 60 plus miles per hour, for *miles* into neighborhoods and other areas, that are far from the fires...
It would be impossible to send in several hundred thousand people every summer to be airlifted into hundreds of square miles, into all these super rugged steep areas to cut the brush. It's not only impractical, they'd never get to all of it.
Yips!
Oue house was built in 1913, so it has seen a lot of fires and survived, lets hope for this one.
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