Calif. fire grows; residents told to be 'concerned'
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — The Lake Fire grew to 17,050 acres in the San Bernardino Mountains Sunday as firefighters expanded containment by a small margin.
As of 6:30 p.m. PT, they contained 19% of the wildfire. That's up from 15%, which was reported Sunday morning.
There are still 500 threatened structures, although no damage has been reported, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
Smoke is still present in the High Desert communities, but no evacuation orders are in place.
Fire within the wilderness is low intensity, according to the San Bernardino County Fire Department, which is allowing firefighters to gain safe ground while laying hose and dispersing water and retardant from aircraft.
With mild winds coming from the northeast, San Bernardino County Fire Department spokesperson Carol Underhill said the fire is expected to continue moving southeast and into the San Gorgonio wilderness area, which she said hasn't burned in modern history.
"It's pretty virgin timber and it's been gone over by bark beetles," she said. "Those types of things seem to be keeping the fire going."
Aside from temperatures nearing 100 degrees, firefighters are challenged with different strains of the fire moving off into their own fronts.
"Some fires have one major front, but this one has all these fingers moving off," Underhill said.
The National Forest Service has issued contingency divisions to the Morongo Valley and Pioneertown areas, where many residents remember the devastating Sawtooth fire of 2006.
Ten fire engines and one bulldozer were deployed to the areas Friday night as fire officials try to plan for any possible future of the fire. Underhill said residents shouldn't panic, but should make sure they have an evacuation plan in mind for their families and their pets.
"If I were a resident out there, I wouldn't be worried," she said. "Don't be worried, just be concerned ... If (the fire department) waited until there was already danger, we'd be way behind the curve," Underhill said.