Lightning could worsen Line Fire east of L.A. already threatening 35K homes, buildings
An out-of-control wildfire in the foothills of a national forest east of Los Angeles threatened tens of thousands of buildings and forced hundreds of residents to flee Sunday amid a dayslong heat wave of triple-digit temperatures.
Mandatory evacuation orders were placed on communities across San Bernardino County, east of Los Angeles, as the so-called Line Fire raged through woodland and burned through more than 20,000 acres or 31 square miles.
The fire in the foothills of the San Bernardino National Forest, was 0% contained as of 9 p.m. PT, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or CalFire. Residents in nine areas have been ordered to leave, while people in five other surrounding areas are under evacuation warnings.
More than 36,000 structures are under threat from the uncontrolled blaze, CalFire said. Some 1,800 fire personnel are involved in fighting the fire, as well as 18 helicopters and 211 fire engines. There have so far been no confirmed deaths and only three injuries.
The Line Fire jumps highway 330 as an emergency vehicle is driven past Saturday, near Running Springs, Calif.Eric Thayer / APThe Bear Valley Unified and Redlands Unified school districts announced they would cancel all classes Monday due to road closures and poor air quality, while almost 20,000 customers in the area were without power, according to the PowerOutage.us website.
The fire's spread comes after a period of extreme heat in California with triple-digit temperatures. The heat surrounding the Line Fire reached such levels that it created its own weather system Saturday and produced thunderstorm-like pyroculumus clouds, or fire clouds, which were responsible for 280 lightning strikes hitting the ground, the National Weather Service said.
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