Sept. 7 (UPI) — Residents of hundreds of homes near the San Bernardino National Forest in southern California were ordered to evacuate Saturday as the Line Fire grew exponentially.
Mandatory evacuation orders were posted for the communities of Running Springs and Arrow Bear Lake on Saturday, a day after parts of Highland, Calif., were also placed under evacuation as the quickly advancing wildfire drew closer to the city of San Bernardino. The fire started Thursday night.
Highways 330 and other roads in the area were also closed as officials fought to contain the Line Fine, which exploded to more than 7,000 acres Saturday, according to National Forest officials.
The wildfire’s spread is happening as southern California is sweltering under an excessive heat warning and record-high temperatures for Sept. 7 were recorded across the region. Dangerously hot conditions with high temperatures of 102 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit were seen across San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
Some 500 firefighters were deployed against the blaze, which was deemed 0% contained as of late afternoon. Officials warned of the potential for continued “large fire growth” over the next 12 hours as the blaze moved in a north-northeasterly direction.
The main concern was on the fire’s eastern flank, where containment was thought to be most threatened, while its leading western edge was about 12 miles east of the San Bernardino International Airport.
“Resources continue to respond from throughout the state,” the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reported. “Fire crews continue to make progress during the nighttime hours due to higher humidity and nighttime water-dropping helicopters.”
Crews are being hampered by the steep terrain and lack of access to some areas of the fires but are being supported by fixed-wing and rotary aircraft.