The intense wildfire in Southern California generates its own weather system as it expands, prompting mandatory evacuations.
The Line Blaze, initiated approximately 53 hours ago in San Bernardino County, has scorched over 17,237 acres – an increase from approximately 7,000 acres in mere hours prior.
As per the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department, around 4,800 residences in Running Springs and Arrowbear Lake regions were subjected to evacuation orders by Saturday evening. Additional evacuations were necessitated in Highland, affecting hundreds more homes.
Containment of the blaze remained at an abysmal 0% on Saturday evening. The blaze was first detected at the San Bernardino Mountains' base close to Natural Parkland Trailhead towards the end of Thursday evening, as per fire authorities.
The blaze has subsequently spawned its own weather phenomena in the form of pyrocumulus clouds. These clouds generate unpredictable winds that aid the fire's spread, contributing to its rapid growth.
Under the right circumstances, these clouds can induce lightning and rain, known as pyrocumulonimbus. These clouds can transcend heights of 50,000 feet and create their own thunderstorm systems.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department issued precautionary evacuation notices for numerous localities and offered animal shelter services for animals and livestock necessitating evacuation.
As fire conditions deteriorated, the department broadened evacuation orders for some adjoining areas by Saturday evening, as announced on X, previously known as Twitter.
The American Red Cross established an evacuation shelter at a nearby church for escaping residents on Saturday.
Numerous entities from the surrounding region such as Cal Fire, the US Forest Service-San Bernardino National Forest, San Bernardino County Fire, and San Bernardino County Sheriff are jointly handling the fire.
The Line Blaze expanded its footprint more than 14 times in just over 30 hours, growing from about 1,180 acres at 5 p.m. PT on Friday to its current size by Saturday night.
The region was further distressed as two earthquakes struck nearby Ontario, California, in a 30-minute interval. The first quake was recorded at 3.5 magnitude at 10 a.m. local time, while the second quake registered at 3.9 magnitude, according to USGS data. Residents as distant as Los Angeles felt the Saturday morning tremor, reported USGS.
Meanwhile, in neighboring Nevada, the Davis Fire – described as a highly dangerous, wind-fueled inferno – had engulfed around 1,500 acres by Saturday evening and ruined at least six structures, as per Truckee Meadows Fire and Rescue, shared on X.
As the Western region continues to endure heat alerts throughout the weekend, temperatures in Southern California ranged from 95° to 105° F, representing a 10° to 20°F above typical weather patterns for the area.
CNN’s Ashley R. Williams contributed to this report.
Despite the joint efforts of Cal Fire, US Forest Service-San Bernardino National Forest, San Bernardino County Fire, and San Bernardino County Sheriff, the containment of The Line Blaze remains at 0%. Due to the unpredictable winds generated by pyrocumulus clouds, the blaze continues to spread, affecting us and thousands of other residents in the region.
