Residents in the town of Alta Loma were ordered to
leave their homes as the blaze, named the Grand Prix fire, continued to roar
through dry heavy brush in the foothills about 60 miles east of Los Angeles.
Evacuations were ordered earlier in the community of Lytle Creek and near
Fontana and Rancho Cucamonga, forcing thousands of people to leave their homes.
A second fire broke out on Saturday in a canyon northeast of the city of San
Bernardino, burning down three homes and threatening hundreds more in a
residential area near a state university.
The blaze, named the Old fire because it erupted in Old Waterman Canyon at
midmorning, had consumed more than 3,000 acres, and evacuations were underway,
said Carol Beckley, spokeswoman for the U.S. Forest Service. The cause was
unknown.
High winds prevented air tankers and helicopters from flying into the canyon
to drop water on the fire, which forced the closure of two state highways in the
area.
"We expect a very tough fight today," said Georgia Smith, fire spokeswoman
for the San Bernardino National Forest. "The Santa Ana winds are very erratic
and shifting, and they are expected to be very strong in the canyons."
The Grand Prix fire, which broke out Tuesday and is being investigated as a
possible arson, has been whipped by the Santa Ana winds that blow through
Southern California in the autumn. Winds were expected to reach speeds of 30 to
35 miles per hour on Saturday, Smith said.
The blaze has burned through 13,730 acres and destroyed six homes and a U.S.
Forest Service helicopter on the ground. No injuries have been reported.
The fire, fueled by dense old-growth trees and brush, sent thick black and
orange smoke drifting across Southern California, choking nearby towns with ash.
The east-west Interstate 210 freeway was shut down early Saturday, but
Interstate 15, the major freeway linking Southern California and Las Vegas, was
open.
Officials said more than 2,000 firefighters from California and other states
were battling the blaze and it was 21 percent contained.
The California Independent System Operator, the agency that manages most of
the state's power grid, has called on Southern Californians to conserve
electricity in case the fire knocks out one of the major power lines in the
area.
