An explosive wildfire fanned by a heatwave and strong winds has ripped through rural communities outside Los Angeles, unleashing fire tornadoes and triggering evacuation orders for more than 80,000 people.
The so-called Blue Cut fire flared 60 miles east of Los Angeles on Tuesday and by Wednesday morning had grown to 46 sq miles, spreading at a speed and ferocity which triggered chaotic scenes as residents scrambled to flee.
The flames consumed homes and businesses, including a McDonald’s and the Summit Inn, a famous roadside diner on historic Route 66. It was the latest casualty in what is turning out to be a wild fire season in California.
More than 1,300 firefighters backed by 10 air tankers and 15 helicopters dug trenches and sprayed water and retardant but authorities said the fire, named after a trail called Blue Cut where it began, was “0% contained”. The smoke could be seen from Las Vegas and Huntington Beach.
The National Weather Service warned that conditions would not improve, amid temperatures of up to 100F (37C) with gusty south to south-west winds and humidity levels as low as 3%.
Television footage captured a fire tornado, more accurately known as a fire whirl, a phenomenon in which flames and gusts combine to form whirling eddies.
"Firenado" whips up smoke and flames as #BlueCutFire burns out of control. Live coverage: https://t.co/d7oozH75l0 https://t.co/oZrrQcLhAe
— NBC Los Angeles (@NBCLA) August 17, 2016
“It hit hard, it hit fast, it hit with an intensity we haven’t seen before,” Mike Wakoski, the firefighting incident commander, told a press conference.
San Bernardino fire chief Mark Hartwig warned evacuees to prepare for bad news. “A lot of homes lost; there will be a lot of families that come home to nothing.”
California’s governor, Jerry Brown, declared a state of emergency in San Bernardino County. The Red Cross set up emergency shelters for evacuees, including several for animals.
“There is imminent threat to public safety, rail traffic and structures. Please follow the evacuation instructions, as this is a very quickly growing wildfire,” said the state incident information system. “An estimated 34,500 homes and 82,640 people are being affected by the evacuation warnings.”
Sheriff’s deputies scrambled to enforce mandatory evacuation orders for rural communities in Baldy Mesa, Lytle Creek, Wrightwood, Old Cajon Road, Lone Pine Canyon, West Cajon Valley and Swarthout Canyon.
Only about half of the 4,500 residents of the threatened town of Wrightwood left, the Associated Press reported. “This is not the time to mess around,” said Mark Peebles, a San Bernardino County fire department battalion chief.
Wakoski, the incident commander, echoed the sentiment. “If we ask you to leave, you have to leave.”
James Quigg, a photographer with the Daily Press in Victorville, witnessed the fire explode from just 15 acres to cover miles of canyon and hillside.
“I saw all sorts of areas where I figured, ‘OK, the firefighters will use this as a line break, or they’ll use that as a fire break.’ And the fire just kept hopping over them,” he told KPCC.
“And then it was like, whoa, this is going to be a problem. I’ve seen several fires in the past. I have never seen, you know, the flames burn so high and so close and right up to the freeway.”
Another photographer showed people apparently running towards a burning property in an effort to retrieve possessions.
Homeowners run toward the flames of the #bluecutfire in an attempt to retrieve belongings @sbsun @RickSforza pic.twitter.com/5Shqs9TouQ
— Sarah Alvarado (@sarahalvarado) August 17, 2016
Flames briefly trapped six firefighters who were defending homes in Swarthout Canyon. They found shelter but two suffered minor injuries, officials said.
Strong gusts, drought-parched terrain and southern California’s week-long heat wave fuelled the flames. The fire shut down a section of Interstate 15, the main highway between southern California and Las Vegas, complicating evacuations.
It was the latest blaze in what is proving to be an especially destructive, unpredictable fire season in western states.
A home burns off of Hwy 138 during the #BlueCutFire Tuesday pic.twitter.com/GAupNYtFhL
— Will Lester (@WillLesterPhoto) August 16, 2016
Recent fires have claimed hundreds of homes and killed eight people in California – an ominous record because fire season peaks in autumn with the arrival of hot Santa Ana winds.
It’s part of a trend of drier winters, warmer springs and hotter summers. Climate change has extended the west’s traditional fire season by 78 days since the 1970s, running from June to October. Fires start earlier and burn longer.
The US’s lower 48 states just experienced the hottest June on record, surpassing 1933 dust bowl records, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
