Bobcat Fire endangering local communities
JUNIPER HILLS — Evacuation orders remained in effect Monday for residents of Juniper Hills, Devils Punchbowl and Paradise Springs, after the Bobcat Fire grew to approximately 105,345 acres with 15% containment in the Angeles National Forest, making it one of the largest fires in the county’s history.
Some 1,718 personnel, including 227 engines, 75 hand crews, six helicopters, 19 dozers and 10 water tenders are fighting the blaze.
Officials warned the flames would continue to spread from the foothills into the Juniper Hills, Valyermo and Big Pine.
“The sound that will resonate with me forever as we watched in terror of the evil fingers of fire running down the hill like lava on a bursting volcano, was the sound of exploding propane tanks ... one after another after another getting closer and closer, as the hill burst into flames. It was the most terrifying moment in our lives. We couldn’t pack fast enough,” Juniper Hills resident Connie Mavrolas said. “For every explosion, it was a new house that was being consumed by the fire.”
An unknown number of homes have been lost in the blaze.
Mavrolas used lessons learned from the Station Fire in 2009 to track the Bobcat Fire.
“It was kind of our own little command center here, information center,” she said.
They tracked the fire as it grew along the burn scar of the Station Fire and moved toward their community.
“We all became weather enthusiasts, tracking wind direction and weather conditions to determine the fire’s direction,” Mavrolas said.
Of the eight people in Mavrolas’ home, two or three received emergency text message alerts. The same was true of other families who live in the area. They took screenshots and shared them on social media.
Juniper Hills and Pearblos
som community members shared information via the Nextdoor smartphone app. They also used a community emergency club known as YOYO, or You’re On Your Own, to keep track of the flames’ progress.
Some families had evacuated or were ready to go before they received any official notice to evacuate.
Pearblossom resident Lorrie Denning shared images captured by their trail camera to the Pearblossom Neighborhood Watch Facebook page, of a buck getting an early morning drink of water from a trough on her property. Another photo showed a deer drinking from the same trough.
Perhaps the most striking photo of all was a mother bobcat and one her three kittens drinking from the trough as the other two kittens looked on.
Not all of the creatures driven away from the flames are so cuddly.
Mavrolas nearly stepped on a rattlesnake during her Saturday night fire watch.
“They are all out of their holes because the ground is hot,” she said. “He was in striking position and touching my boot. He let me back up ... and I thanked him.”
The Bobcat Fire erupted on Sept. 6 near the Cogswell Dam and West Fork Day Use area northeast of Mt. Wilson and within the Angeles National Forest. The cause remains under investigation. Full containment of the fire is not expected until Oct. 30.