September 2009 Archives

The Pendleton Fire in Yucaipa has been declared 100 percent contained and the Oak Glen III Fire is not too far behind at 90 percent containment, fire officials said today.

More than 500 firefighters worked through the night dousing hot spots on the Pendleton blaze, but many will be released by this evening, said Cal-Fire spokesman Justin Smith. The fire held at 860 acres.

Fire officials expect to have full containment on the Oak Glen fire by Sept. 7. That blaze was estimated to be 1,159 acres. About 1,750 firefighters remained assigned to that fire.

This community meeting notice is for residents of Oak Glen and Yucaipa affected by the fires.

WHERE: Yucaipa Community Center (in the gymnasium)
34900 Oak Glen Road
Yucaipa, CA 92399

WHEN: Sept. 3 at 6 p.m.

Members of the Incident Command Team will provide an update on the status of the Oak Glen and Pendleton fires. There will also be a period of questions and answers with written questions only.

Oak Glen Fire:

- 1,012 acres burned

- 75 percent contained, full containment expected Monday

- Firefighting cost is $3.6 million

- 1,744 firefighters assigned

- 2,000 homes threatened

Pendleton Fire

- 860 acres burned

- 70 percent contained, full containment expected Friday

- 816 firefighters assigned

- Firefighting cost is $655, 058

- 400 homes threatened

There are four firefighter injuries on both fires. Two are burns, one is a heat injury and the last is a case of poison oak.

Fire officials are now saying that the historic ranch house that was believed to have been damaged by the Oak Glen Fire was not actually damaged. There are now no reports of any damaged homes.

stacia.glenn@inlandnewspapers.com
andrew.edwards@inlandnewspapers.com

Both the Oak Glen III and Pendleton fires remained calm overnight, but firefighters planned to stay alert due to anticipated thunderstorms in the area.

The Pendleton Fire held at 860 acres and was 70 percent contained, said Cal-Fire spokesman Bill Peters. The Oak Glen III Fire was 1,012 acres and 60 percent contained.

Hundreds of residents in evacuation areas were allowed to return home at 8 p.m. Tuesday after firefighters downgraded the neighborhoods from mandatory evacuation areas to recommended evacuation areas, Peters said.

"The area is open to residents only," Peters said. "The roadblocks are still in place."

Firefighters plan to continue cutting fire lines the next few days and dousing hot spots. Today, firefighters are concerned that thunderstorms could bring dry lightning down on the area's dry brush and spark a new blaze.

"We'll be watching and will be ready to respond if we get one," he said.

- melissa.pinion-whitt@inlandnewspapers.com

From San Bernardino County's Web site:

"All mandatory evacuations for the Oak Glen and Pendleton fires are being reduced to recommended evacuation orders (rather than mandatory). Only residents of those areas are being allowed into the area.

"Evacuees have been provided with informational materials for re-entry including Food Safety advisories and counseling services offered respectively by the County Departments of Public Health and Behavioral Health.

"Residents returning to their homes should be aware of the following:

* Many of the affected areas suffered power outages for some period of time during the fire.
* Use caution before eating food in your refrigerator or freezer.
* Food can be spoiled due to power outages

"If you or a member of your family are having trouble coping due to the wildfires we have been experiencing, remember to ask for help. To consult a counselor or mental health professional please call the County of San Bernardino Department of Behavioral Health at (888) 743-1478 or 2-1-1."

Steve Vanderburg, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Diego, said rain Tuesday in the Yucaipa and Oak Glenn area does not appear to be a large storm system.

Vanderburg said a large, impressive thunderstorm system is over the Crestline and Running Springs area today, but he called the storms around Yucaipa and Oak Glen "pretty weak."

The service was forecasting a 20 percent chance of thunderstorms Tuesday afternoon and evening. Vanderburg said the storm could help firefighters by raising humidity levels.

"When it gets cooler and more humid the firefighters can be more
aggressive," Vanderburg said. However, the storms can also bring erratic, gusty winds that could fan the flames and make battling the fire more difficult, he added.

The Chairman of the Board of Supervisors Gary Ovitt proclaimed a local emergency today due to the fires - the Oak Glen III Fire and the Pendleton Fire - that have already burned thousands of acres and posed a hazard to the safety of persons and property throughout San Bernardino County.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Gary Ovitt said, "We appreciate the timely help of Governor Schwarzenegger proclaiming a State of Emergency, which opens up a wide range of state resources to help us fight this destructive fire and help individuals and businesses get back on their feet."

The Oak Glen III Fire started at about 1:30 p.m. on Aug. 30, 2009 near the unincorporated community of Oak Glen, causing the evacuation of the entire community, and continues to spread in the San Bernardino National Forest. The Pendleton Fire started at about 3:45 p.m. on Aug. 31, 2009 in the City of Yucaipa and has caused additional evacuations of more than 1,000 homes in that area.

Fire officials were expected to assess this evening whether evacuees from the Pendleton Fire in Yucaipa could be let back into some areas, they said.

The topic was expected to be discussed during a 6 p.m. briefing for fire officials. Earlier, officials had said they hoped to allow evacuees back in to some areas by this evening.

In other fire news, 1,952 total personel were working both the Pendleton and Oak Glen fires. They used seven fixed wing aircraft and 1 helitanker in firefighting efforts today.

- stacia.glenn@inlandnewspapers.com

Heavy rain and lightning were being reported in Yucaipa by Sun reporters who are covering the Pendleton Fire.

Storm clouds were seen overhead at 4:20 p.m. from Avenue E, and large rain drops were falling to the ground. The rain has been in small patches.

Earlier today, fire officials had said rain would be welcome because of the moisture it would bring. But they were worried about possible lightning strikes that could start more fires.

"It's a critical time," said Calfire spokesman Martin Johnson. "We're looking at this really closely and hoping the (fire) lines hold."

Firefighters were unsure how the weather changes might affect the wildfire, Johnson explained. With the small storm cells can come erratics winds and downdrafts.

About 200 firefighters are staging around homes where flames from the Pendleton Fire are creeping close. The area firefighters are concerned with is along Avenue E from Fremont Street to Wildwood Canyon Road and up north to Oak Glen Road.

The blaze, which began Monday, swept down to Fremont Heights Mobile Home Park, on the other side of a ridge from Avenue E.

"Once it came over the top, that's when it went squirrely on us," said East Bay Regional Parks Fire Department Battalion Chief Tim August.

Firefighters say the flare-up began as a little puff of smoke on a hill about 6:30 a.m. and spread from there. Firefighters were able to get control of the flare-up about five hours later.

So far, firefighters have been able to save homes from any damage, but one shed was destroyed along Avenue E.

- stacia.glenn@inlandnewspapers.com
- melissa.pinion-whitt@inlandnewspapers.com

A strike team surrounded homes in the Wildlife Corridor area of Yucaipa this morning, lighting back fires to save the structures from damage in the Pendleton Fire.

The 22-person Cal-Fire strike team called the Fresno-Kings Unit, staged at the end of Avenue E, where flames came within about 100 feet of several homes.

"The heavy winds this morning played havoc with us," said Cal-Fire Battalion Chief Billy See.

He said the winds easily carried the fire a half mile toward houses, where flames grew as large as 40 to 50 feet tall.

- stacia.glenn@inlandnewspapers.com
- melissa.pinion-whitt@inlandnewspapers.com

Resident John Vanderelst evacuated his home after the City of Yucaipa called and asked him to leave because of the Pendleton Fire, he said. He later returned when he believed the fire didn't look that bad.

"We were ready to go," Vanderelst said. "We're probably going to stay until it gets real bad."

Vanderelst, who lives in the foothills on Poplar Street, complimented firefighters' efforts.

"These guys are doing a hell of a job," he said.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- The costs to fight the wildfires raging through California are
adding up quickly for the cash-strapped state.

The state has spent $106.5 million of its $182 million emergency firefighting fund -- just two months into the fiscal year, Department of Finance spokesman H.D. Palmer said. The budget was increased this year from $69 million in 2008-09 to more accurately reflect annual firefighting costs, he said.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Tuesday that the unpredictable costs are also the reason he wanted to ensure California had a $500 million reseve fund this year.

There is a long line of traffic heading south out of Wildwood Canyon as local residents evacuate the Yucaipa area due to the Pendleton Fire, according to Sun reporters on the scene.

The University of Redlands football team has canceled its 3 p.m. practice today because of smoke from the wildfires burning in Yucaipa and the community of Oak Glen.

The Bulldogs football team was also forced to practice inside the gym this morning because of the smoke.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared Tuesday morning that a state of emergency exists in San Bernardino County where the Oak Glen and Pendleton fires are still burning.

The governor met in Yucaipa with Cal Fire director Del Walters and others Monday morning. He also watched a helitanker fill up at the lake at Yucaipa Regional Park.

Additionally, the Pendleton Fire has expanded to 840 acres and because of that increase, its containment figure has been downgraded to 20 percent.

The Pendleton Branch is our biggest problem right now," said incident commander Tim McClelland, a Cal Fire deputy chief.

Near Pendleton's flames, about 1,100 homes and 2,500 people in the eastern Yucaipa area are under evacuation orders. Many people living inside the evacuation area have remained at their homes.

'When we ask you to evacuate, it's time to go," San Bernardino County Sheriff Rod Hoops said.

The Pendleton Fire, which started Monday, is moving eastward toward the Wildwood Canyon area and is about 1 to 1.5 miles away from the Oak Glen Fire, which ignited Sunday.

The Oak Glen Fire has burned 1,012 acres and is at 40 percent containment.

- stacia.glenn@inlandnewspapers.com
-andrew.edwards@inlandnewspapers.com

Cal-Fire spokesman Bill Peters reports the following updates on the Oak Glen III and Pendleton fires:

- More than 1,000 firefighters are split between both incidents.

- The Oak Glen fire has burned an estimated 1,013 acres and is about 40 percent contained.

Crews on the ground are continuing to cut lines around the blaze and helicopters are dumping water on hot spots.

- The Pisgah Ridge area in the northeast section of the fire continues to be the biggest concern for firefighters.

- Fire officials have not disclosed the type of structure damaged in the Oak Glen fire on Monday. The structure received minor damage.

- The Pendleton Fire is about 640 acres and 45 percent contained, but Peters said the fire is "kicking up again."

- San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies have been driving through the Wildwood Canyon area since last night to remind residents of the mandatory evacuation, which is in place on Wildwood Canyon Road east of Fremont Street to Oak Glen Road. The evacuation is in effect for 900 homes, or approximately 2100 residents.

- A cause on both blazes is still being investigated.

- melissa.pinion-whitt@inlandnewspapers.com

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger arrived about 9:30 a.m. at the scene of the Oak Glen III Fire. He was attending a briefing by Cal-Fire officials for updates on the incident.

The Oak Glen III Fire didn't expand much overnight, but fire officials said there are still some areas of the blaze burning heavily and the weather will continue to be hot and dry today.

The blaze grew just 13 acres between Monday night and this morning, said Cal-Fire spokesman Jason Meyer. The blaze was estimated at 1,013 acres.

"Mandatory evacuations for Oak Glen are still in effect because there are still some pretty active areas of the fire," Meyer said.

The fire was 40 percent contained.

Meanwhile, fire officials estimated the Pendleton Fire in Yucaipa had burned 640 acres of brush. Firefighters had that fire 45 percent contained.

About 200 homes along Wildwood Canyon remained under mandatory evacuation while firefighters battled flare ups and lit back fires overnight.

"We had a report about an hour ago about a flare-up that consumed five acres pretty quickly," Meyer said.

Fifty fire engines were assigned to the Pendleton blaze, along with 40 hand crews and eight bulldozers. Aircraft will be moving between both blazes today.

- melissa.pinion-whitt@inlandnewspapers.com

All schools in the Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified School District will be closed to students and staff today due to poor air quality from the fires.

According to the district's website, schools will reopen Wednesday.

- melissa.pinion-whitt@inlandnewspapers.com

Officials with the San Bernardino National Forest increased fire restrictions today due to hot, dry weather and high fire activity in the area.

The following restrictions are in place:

- No wood or charcoal fires anywhere on the San Bernardino National Forest.

- Campfire permits are required for propane and gas stoves and lanterns used outside of developed recreation sites.

- Recreational shooting is limited to public shooting ranges operated under special use permit only, except for people engaged in legal hunting.

- An approved spark arrester is required for any internal combustion engine operated on designated forest routes. These include chain saws, generators, motorcycles, and off-highway vehicles.

- Smoking is limited to enclosed vehicles, buildings and developed recreation sites.

- Fireworks are always prohibited in the forest, along with tracer, armor-piercing, steel core and Teflon ammunition. Discharging a firearm at any exploding target is also prohibited, fire officials said.

U.S. Forest Service officials said they would be issuing citations to anyone who doesn't comply with the restrictions. Fines as high as $10,000 or as much as six months' jail time could be imposed.

- melissa.pinion-whitt@inlandnewspapers.com