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After two days of intense effort by more than 1,300 firefighting personnel the Blue Cut Fire remains at just four percent containment. The fire is a testament to the four-plus year drought complicated, in the San Bernardino County deserts and mountains, by extreme heat, low humidity and winds topping out with some 40-miles-per-hour gusts.
“It’s bewildering,” said Char Miller, a professor at Pomona College in nearby Claremont. Miller, who researches wildfires, described the Blue Cut Fire as “moving very, very quickly and I think that’s one of the examples of the nature of fire this summer.
“This is in big measure because we’re in a deep drought. The drought, the weather and the temperature have come together in a way that’s, frankly, pretty scary.”
With more than 31,600 acres scorched, and fueled by heavy and very dry brush, some 83,000 people have been ordered to evacuate – though not all people have heeded the evacuation orders. Mark Hartwig, San Bernardino County Fire chief, shared that dozens of building had been destroyed. The exact number and locations remain unclear.
Dozens of schools in both desert and mountain communities are closed, having only been in sessions for a few days. Both Hesperia Unified and Snowline Unified School Districts will remain closed for the remainder of the week.
Interstate highway I15, which had been completely shut down for more than a day-and-a-half, was reopened for northbound traffic Wednesday night. However, the southbound I15 remains closed until further notice. Dozens of off-ramps into the Wrightwood mountains and the desert town of Phelan remained closed to all but emergency personnel and those evacuating the area. Caltrans crews were working to repair guardrails and sections of the I15 damaged by the massive fire.
Although the northbound lanes have reopened, Caltrans was advising motorists to have a full tank of gas and to be prepared for delays. Other authorities were cautioning vehicles to have ample water and food in case delays again become lengthy.
Although there have been no reports of fatalities, Incident Commander Mike Wakoski of the San Bernardino County Fire Department said that “due diligence” was being implemented and sheriff’s deputies and cadaver dogs were searching burned buildings along with volunteer search-and-rescue teams.
Chief Hartwig with San Bernardino County Fire said, “It’s almost unimaginable that with the number of people who refused to leave that we won’t see something.”
According to the Rancho Cucamonga-based Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Pomona College’s Miller said by phone, “The pattern suggests we’re in what people are calling a new normal. This is not simply tied to drought. It’s partly because of climate change.
“As the season gets longer, that’s again linked to climate change. And that’s having a more dramatic effect because more people live in these areas than was true 20 years ago.”
