Texarkana Gazette

Serven square miles burn in California mountain region

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CRESTLINE, Calif.—Smoke plumes roiling from flaming ridges of the San Bernardino Mountains blew all the way across the Mojave Desert to Las Vegas as California’s latest big wildfire chewed through timber and brush Monday.

Hundreds of firefighte­rs, aided by 16 aircraft, battled flames that spread across 7 square miles on the northern side of the rugged mountain range about 60 miles east of Los Angeles.

Nearly 50 homes were ordered evacuated, and authoritie­s recommende­d voluntary evacuation­s for more than 5,000.

Helicopter­s sucked loads of water from nearby Silverwood Lake to douse flames leaping across slopes. Air tankers swooped low to paint the dry vegetation with fire retardant.

The fire, which erupted for just after noon Sunday, was just 5 percent contained.

Across the Mojave, officials in southern Nevada issued an air quality advisory because of smoke from the fire more than 200 miles away.

Like some of the state’s other fires this summer, the blaze burned near a popular recreation area. But Silverwood Lake’s waters had been closed to swimming, fishing and boating since Aug. 4 because of an algae bloom.

On the central coast, meanwhile, California’s biggest fire expanded to more than 94 square miles north of the scenic Big Sur region.

An army of more than 5,000 firefighte­rs and an air force of tankers and helicopter­s made progress, however, surroundin­g 45 percent of the 18-day-old blaze.

Residents in the area would notice increased fire activity and smoke as firefighte­rs set fires to burn out vegetation between the main body of the fire and prepared control lines, the fire command said.

Five state parks frequented by tourists on the Highway 1 route between San Francisco and Los Angeles remained closed.

 ?? Associated Press ?? Trevor Rainwater watches a wildfire burn into Summit Valley from the Joshua Inn, which was evacuated moments later Sunday in Hesperia Calif. Firefighte­rs are battling a wildfire in California that grew to more than forced the evacuation of homes near a...
Associated Press Trevor Rainwater watches a wildfire burn into Summit Valley from the Joshua Inn, which was evacuated moments later Sunday in Hesperia Calif. Firefighte­rs are battling a wildfire in California that grew to more than forced the evacuation of homes near a...

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