Forest Service Chief visits area

U.S. Forest Service Chief Gail Kimbell stood on Modoc Lane, among the charred ruins of hundreds of homes near Lake Arrowhead's Country Club Villas, Thursday afternoon, praising efforts of firefighters in their battles to contain the Grass Valley and Slide fires that since Sunday have claimed hundreds of homes.

She said the thousands of acres of tinder-dry vegetation cleared since 2003 by firefighters and residents in the San Bernardino Mountains drastically reduced the damage, which could have been worse, and that favorable weather conditions has enabled firefightters to get an upper hand on the fires.

"The progress made on the fires today has been significant, and we hope to close some of the (fire) perimeters tomorrow," Kimbell said.

The Slide Fire was 15 percent contained Thursday, and the Grass Valley Fire was declared 50 percent contained, said Mike Dietrich, U.S. Forest Service chief in charge of the San Bernardino National Forest.

He believes firefighters have seen the worst of the fire behavior, and things should only get better from here.

"I'm hoping the structure threat is gone. I'm pretty sure it is," Dietrich said.

Joe Nelson, joe.nelson@sbsun.com 7:55 p.m.