A wildfire in the mountains of Southern California continues to blaze for the fourth day in a row, already having burned through more than 35 square miles and now forcing thousands of residents in the area to evacuate their homes.
According to InciWeb, the Mountain Fire was first reported on Monday July 15 at approximately 1:43 p.m. It is currently burning in the Mountain Center area of California, approximately 100 miles southeast of Los Angeles. It has already burned through 22,800 acres of land as of Thursday afternoon. The fire is currently estimated at 15 percent containment.
Mandatory evacuation orders are still underway for Bonita Vista, Pine Springs, the Zen Mountain Center off of Apple Canyon Road and Trails End at the north end of Morris Ranch Road. On Thursday, the Riverside County Sheriff's Office issued additional evacuations for the Idyllwild and Fern Valley areas. This evacuation notice includes the San Jacinto State Park Wilderness, Forest Service Wilderness and Forest Service Campgrounds.
USA Today reports that nearly 6,000 residents and visitors in the areas surrounding the fire are affected by the evacuation orders. Approximately 2,200 homes have already been evacuated and 4,100 additional residences are being threatened by the fire.
"This fire is moving pretty fast and we're getting such strange winds and weather that they're changing on us frequently," said Incident Commander Jeanne Pincha-Tulley. "We're erring on the side of caution to get people out as soon as we can."
Evacuation centers have been set up for those that have been forced to flee their residences. One center is located at Hemet High School in Hemet and the other is at Hamilton High School in Anza. Hamilton High School is accepting small animals as well as people. Additionally, large and small animals may be brought to the San Jacinto Animal Shelter in San Jacinto.
According to officials, nearly two dozen structures have already been destroyed by the blaze, including thee residences, three mobile homes, a commercial building, a workshop, a garage, a cabin and 11 other outbuildings.
There are currently 2,985 firefighters utilizing 228 fire engines to battle the wildfire, as well as 17 helicopters, 10 flexed wing aircraft including a DC-10, 51 hand crews, 21 water tenders and 15 dozers.
According to the U.S. Forest Service, $4.6 million has already been spent on firefighting efforts. Officials are still investigating the cause of the blaze.
- Contribute to this Story:
- Send us a tip
- Send us a photo or video
- Suggest a correction
