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California fires could extinguish holiday spirit
Smoke billows behind a charred tree in California's San
Bernardino Mountains
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A look at the Western U.S. fires from the firefighters' point of view
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September 2, 1999
Web posted at: 11:37 p.m. EDT (0337 GMT)
FAWNSKIN, California (CNN) -- Higher humidity and lower
temperatures are helping fire crews in Southern California
save resort towns in the San Bernardino Mountains from a
blaze that has burned more than 60,000 acres.
The fire has made no major runs into new areas since
Wednesday. But battling back the flames may not be enough to
save the profits that hotel owners and shopkeepers hoped to
reap from the Labor Day holiday.
In the tiny hamlet of Fawnskin on the north side of Big Bear
Lake, Barb Aker, owner of Gold Pan Dining, filled salt
shakers in her empty restaurant.
"It will affect business big time," Aker said. "It's very,
very slow. There's no traffic at all. Normally cars are
piling in by now."
Throughout the West, fires burning on Thursday had already
scorched more than 153,000 acres in California and three
other states -- Idaho, Montana and Texas -- according to the
National Interagency Fire Center.
Firefighters got the upper hand in six significant wildfires
in Montana, Utah, Idaho and Texas.
The West's largest blaze, the 60,100-acre Willow fire 90
miles east of Los Angeles, threatened to derail a couple's
planned nuptials at the resort in Fawnskin.
"A lot of people coming to the wedding are scared to come
up," said Ken Nairne, 40, of Borrego Springs, as he ordered
flowers for Saturday's ceremony. "We were worried we'd have
to cancel the wedding. We were all freaking out, but we're
handling it."
The Willow fire, which has been burning since Saturday, is
one of seven major fires in California alone.
Firefighters ordered selected forests torched in an attempt
to create buffer zones for homes.
Using existing roads, natural fire breaks and constructed
fire lines, crews ignited fires to burn out fuels between the
fire line and the blackened area, creating a barrier to
contain the fire.
"We're going to try to beat it at its own game," said Kathy
Saindon, spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County Fire
Department.
The Willow blaze destroyed 12 desert homes in Apple Valley
during the fire's early stages. It was initially reported to
have been started by an illegal campfire, but authorities now
say they are still investigating the cause.
In Los Angeles County, some campgrounds in the Angeles
National Forest were closed because of a 7,000-acre blaze
near Azusa that was 35 percent contained.
More than 4,000 people were evacuated earlier in the week,
including 160 homeless mothers and their children attending a
camp sponsored by Planet Hope, a charity founded by actress
Sharon Stone and her sister, Kelly.
"It was so smoky," Kelly Stone said. "I was a little freaked
out because we were on the top of that mountain, and we could
see the smoke from all the fires."
In Northern California, firefighters struggled with clusters
of wildfires started by lightning on Sunday.
The 27,100-acre High Complex fire in the Shasta-Trinity area
-- actually 19 lightning-ignited blazes burning in a cluster
22 miles north of Redding -- was 85 percent surrounded.
Containment was expected Saturday.
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Fire officials say they are concerned about all the
fires burning in the West, but priority goes to this blaze near Fawnskin in California's San Bernardino Mountains because it is the largest
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On Wednesday, towering pine trees exploded in flames a few
miles from Green Valley Lake, a resort hamlet at the 8,000-
foot level not far from Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear.
Most of the residents scrambled to pack their belongings or
volunteered to help fight the blaze.
"The worst part is that everybody is so tired," said fire
Capt. Rick Mull, rubbing bloodshot eyes. "But everyone in the
town is coming together to help us and help each other."
The bed-and-breakfast, camping and boating resort has about
350 full-time residents, and many were staying despite a
voluntary evacuation alert.
Rather than running, residents talk about the fire's effect
on tourism over the Labor Day weekend. The final weekend of
summer usually brings 500 people to Green Valley Lake.
"I don't know if the fire is going to get up here, but I'm
getting calls from people who want to cancel their vacation,"
said Ted Fogel, who works at a cabin rental firm.
Down in Lucerne Valley, fire blackened Barbara Jo Jones' 35
acres of remote desert land at the foot of the San Bernardino
Mountains, but her home, goats and iguana were saved by
firefighters on Tuesday.
"They are our heroes," she said. "I don't think I've ever had
a hero before. We gave them coffee; they gave us our
property."
Correspondent Jim Hill and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
RELATED STORIES:
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August 30, 1999
Firefighters report 'good progress' against Western blazes
August 29, 1999
Firefighters report progress against Western blazes
August 28, 1999
Hundreds of fires burning in Western U.S.
August 26, 1999
Dozens of wildfires rage in Nevada, other Western states
August 6, 1999
RELATED SITES:
National Interagency Fire Center
• Large Wildland Fires
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