Running Springs homes now burning
At 12:34 p.m., sbsun.com videographer Al Cuizon reported that he saw one home burning on Circle View Drive in the community of Running Springs. The Slide Fire had been making an aggressive move toward Running Springs from about 10 p.m. onward on Monday.
However, early Tuesday morning the fire was in neighborhoods. Cuizon, along with photographer LaFonzo Rachal Carter, said that fire engines could be seen leaving the area because of the dangerous conditions.
Reporter Joe Nelson said that the fire moved into Running Springs from Green Valley Lake, threatening neighborhoods on both the north and south sides of Highway 18. The neighborhoods most threatened are along Wilderness Drive, Live Oak and Old City Creek Roads.
"I'd say the entire community of Running Springs is threatened right now," said Steve Feltzner, a battalion chief with the U.S. Forest Service and the incident commander for the Green Valley and Grass Valley fires. "You have so much wind and so much spotting, every structure in the community is threatened. As of 11:44 p.m., the fire had jumped 18 and was starting spot fires near Highway 330.
Running Springs Fire Chief Bill Smith roused about a dozen firefighters sleeping on cots in the fire station bay to deploy them down to Highway 330 below Highway 18.
"It's run all the way down to the 330 and we've got structures burning," Smith said before leaving to join the fight against the fire.
Feltzner said there was a line of fire from Running Springs all of the way to Lakeview Point, near Big Bear Lake. The fire line stretches from Running Springs to Lakeview Point, which is about six miles west of Big Bear Lake.