18,000 acres Burning AND 82,000 people told to Evacuate in California!

News Western Wildfires
Aug 17 2016, 4:28 am ET
Blue Cut Fire Burns 18,000 Acres, Forces 82,000 to Evacuate in California
by Alastair Jamieson           
A fast-growing 18,000-acre wildfire burned through rural communities in California overnight, triggering a state of emergency and evacuation orders for more than 82,000 residents in the San Bernardino area.
More than 700 firefighters and other emergency workers were battling the Blue Cut fire, which flared early Tuesday some 60 miles east of Los Angeles and spread rapidly along the Cajon Pass.
Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in San Bernardino County, families fled and Interstate 15 was closed as the blaze grew.                    

Ash rained down on motorists from billowing black smoke, while aerial pictures from KNBC captured a roadside 'firenado' in which swirling gusts of wind sent flames twisting high into the air.

https://twitter.com/NBCLA/status/765740287650136065?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

https://mtc.cdn.vine.co/r/videos/2FD7AEC3511377515498404732928_569d0de8a88.31.0.7BFD54C6-1712-4BD2-903F-1EA5A46121EC.mp4?versionId=FhzgIx8SNjG4nddr9rYFF2b4M406WjSq 

The Red Cross set up shelters for residents forced from their homes.
Shannon Anderson of Blue Mountain Farms horse ranch in Phelan had to load up and evacuate 40 horses as the fire approached.
"It's raining ash," Anderson told The Associated Press.                   

Two firefighters were hurt and briefly hospitalized when they became trapped while defending homes and assisting evacuations in the Swarthout Canyon area, San Bernardino Fire Department said.
The fire was zero percent contained and covered 28 square miles at 11 p.m. PT (2 a.m. ET) — only 12 hours after it began — according to CalFire.
The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning through Thursday night, saying strong winds, low humidity and warm temperatures meant "critical fire weather conditions" would contribute to "extreme fire behavior."
 Smoke hung over the closed Insterstate 15 outside of Los Angeles on Tuesday."

EUGENE GARCIA / EPA
One the 800 residents in the Lytle Creek area told KNBC she was in the shower when deputies knocked on her door and asked her to evacuate.                 

The woman, who gave her name as Amber, said she grabbed what she could — including her dogs — and took off.
"There is no escape," she said. "This was the time for me to go."
Another evacuated resident, John Goodfried, told KNBC he watched air tankers flying missions over the blaze.
"If the smoke is heavy and thick and black you know it's burning something," he said. The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department said a 98-year-old hospice patient was evacuated by helicopter from the Wrightwood area to the north of the wildfire.
Highway 138 to Lone Pine Canyon was closed, while San Bernardino Fire Department said there was no timetable for when Interstate 15 — the main link to Nevada — would reopen.
Night-time helicopters were assisting efforts to control the blaze, it said, continuing the work of 10 air tankers that doused the area fire retardant earlier in the day.

An 84-year-old local historian who uses a walker and is hard of hearing was saved after family members saw KNBC aerial pictures of his house surrounded in flames.
John Hockaday, who has penned books about the Cajon Pass and Route 66, wrapped his head in wet rags and held a hose with water from an emptying tank as the fire swept over his property, burned several cars and his mother-in-law's home, his cousin Ron Snow said.

A firefighter battles the Blue Cut fire near Los Angeles which has led to evacuated orders for 82,000 people. PAUL BUCK / EPA

Snow said he was watching an NBC4 live stream of the fire as flames surrounded Hockaday's house in Cajon Pass and reached out to the newsroom who contacted dispatch to get rescuers to Hockaday's location in a canyon called Lost Lake.
"He was surrounded by fire," Snow told the station. "Fire crews were dispatched. Now he's safe."
The number of fires in California has grown 20 percent over the last decade, rising from more than 4,800 fires in 2006 to nearly 5,800 fires in 2015, according to data from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, KNBC reported.

http://www.onenewspage.com/n/Americas/759s5v2wq/Photos-Blue-Cut-fire.htm

Blue Cut Fire Forces Firefighters To Abandon 2 Engines; Cargo Train Evacuated 00:29

The Blue Cut Fire burning near the Cajon Pass forced fire crews to abandon two engines.
A cargo train was also abandoned due to the fast-growing blaze.

nicko wrote:I hope 4ever will forgive me for poking my nose in, I read somewhere that part of the problem was letting a build up of "brush" and dead wood under the tree's witch can easily catch fire in a drought.    IT said this brush should be cleared yearly.    Is there any truth in this?                

veya_victaous wrote:

nicko wrote:I hope 4ever will forgive me for poking my nose in, I read somewhere that part of the problem was letting a build up of "brush" and dead wood under the tree's witch can easily catch fire in a drought.    IT said this brush should be cleared yearly.    Is there any truth in this?                

'back burning' is indeed a fire managment statergy, every year maybe not, but every couple of years will prevent the once in a decade mega fire..

Would not have helped in this case as the winds are driving it. which is why it is moving so fast.

4EVER2 wrote:

News Western Wildfires
Aug 17 2016, 4:28 am ET
Blue Cut Fire Burns 18,000 Acres, Forces 82,000 to Evacuate in California
by Alastair Jamieson           
A fast-growing 18,000-acre wildfire burned through rural communities in California overnight, triggering a state of emergency and evacuation orders for more than 82,000 residents in the San Bernardino area.
More than 700 firefighters and other emergency workers were battling the Blue Cut fire, which flared early Tuesday some 60 miles east of Los Angeles and spread rapidly along the Cajon Pass.
Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in San Bernardino County, families fled and Interstate 15 was closed as the blaze grew.                    

Ash rained down on motorists from billowing black smoke, while aerial pictures from KNBC captured a roadside 'firenado' in which swirling gusts of wind sent flames twisting high into the air.

https://twitter.com/NBCLA/status/765740287650136065?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

https://mtc.cdn.vine.co/r/videos/2FD7AEC3511377515498404732928_569d0de8a88.31.0.7BFD54C6-1712-4BD2-903F-1EA5A46121EC.mp4?versionId=FhzgIx8SNjG4nddr9rYFF2b4M406WjSq 

The Red Cross set up shelters for residents forced from their homes.
Shannon Anderson of Blue Mountain Farms horse ranch in Phelan had to load up and evacuate 40 horses as the fire approached.
"It's raining ash," Anderson told The Associated Press.                   

Two firefighters were hurt and briefly hospitalized when they became trapped while defending homes and assisting evacuations in the Swarthout Canyon area, San Bernardino Fire Department said.
The fire was zero percent contained and covered 28 square miles at 11 p.m. PT (2 a.m. ET) — only 12 hours after it began — according to CalFire.
The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning through Thursday night, saying strong winds, low humidity and warm temperatures meant "critical fire weather conditions" would contribute to "extreme fire behavior."
 Smoke hung over the closed Insterstate 15 outside of Los Angeles on Tuesday."

EUGENE GARCIA / EPA
One the 800 residents in the Lytle Creek area told KNBC she was in the shower when deputies knocked on her door and asked her to evacuate.                 

The woman, who gave her name as Amber, said she grabbed what she could — including her dogs — and took off.
"There is no escape," she said. "This was the time for me to go."
Another evacuated resident, John Goodfried, told KNBC he watched air tankers flying missions over the blaze.
"If the smoke is heavy and thick and black you know it's burning something," he said. The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department said a 98-year-old hospice patient was evacuated by helicopter from the Wrightwood area to the north of the wildfire.
Highway 138 to Lone Pine Canyon was closed, while San Bernardino Fire Department said there was no timetable for when Interstate 15 — the main link to Nevada — would reopen.
Night-time helicopters were assisting efforts to control the blaze, it said, continuing the work of 10 air tankers that doused the area fire retardant earlier in the day.

An 84-year-old local historian who uses a walker and is hard of hearing was saved after family members saw KNBC aerial pictures of his house surrounded in flames.
John Hockaday, who has penned books about the Cajon Pass and Route 66, wrapped his head in wet rags and held a hose with water from an emptying tank as the fire swept over his property, burned several cars and his mother-in-law's home, his cousin Ron Snow said.

A firefighter battles the Blue Cut fire near Los Angeles which has led to evacuated orders for 82,000 people. PAUL BUCK / EPA

Snow said he was watching an NBC4 live stream of the fire as flames surrounded Hockaday's house in Cajon Pass and reached out to the newsroom who contacted dispatch to get rescuers to Hockaday's location in a canyon called Lost Lake.
"He was surrounded by fire," Snow told the station. "Fire crews were dispatched. Now he's safe."
The number of fires in California has grown 20 percent over the last decade, rising from more than 4,800 fires in 2006 to nearly 5,800 fires in 2015, according to data from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, KNBC reported.

So hard to wrap my mind around the total destruction - where the wild life are able to flee - what happens to those farm animals that can't escape those rapid moving fire - choking smoke filled clouds - heat from the fire! 

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http://www.onenewspage.com/n/Americas/759s5v2wq/Photos-Blue-Cut-fire.htm

Blue Cut Fire Forces Firefighters To Abandon 2 Engines; Cargo Train Evacuated 00:29

The Blue Cut Fire burning near the Cajon Pass forced fire crews to abandon two engines.
A cargo train was also abandoned due to the fast-growing blaze.