The Bridge Fire, burning more than 51,000 acres across Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, is now the largest active wildfire in California, per officials.
The fire, which was still listed at 0% containment as of Thursday evening, began on Sunday afternoon and the cause remains unknown. About 40 homes have been destroyed near the San Gabriel Mountains.
As of an update issued at 9 a.m. Thursday, 51,167 acres were burned.
Fire officials say the heat wave provided immense challenges to crews, and more progress can be made now that temperatures have dipped.
“Mother nature has given us a bit of a break here,” said L.A. County Deputy Fire Chief Mike Inman. “We don’t anticipate any kind of extreme fire behavior or weather events in the very near future.”
Inman added that wind was the main challenge on Thursday. Thousands of smaller hot spots remained in the 50,000-acre mess, which allowed the blaze to continue but fire crews were able to surround the perimeter, preventing major spreading.
Evacuation areas as of Thursday evening included:
- The community of Wrightwood
- Area of Lone Pine Canyon from the community of Wrightwood to Highway 138 / Lone Pine Canyon Road south to the forest
- East Fork communities east of Camp Williams Resort – including the café, mobile home park and campground – as well as the adjacent river community
- The Baldy Village area from the dam to Mount Baldy Resort, San Antonio Heights to Wrightwood and east to Cucamonga Peak are also under a mandatory evacuation order
- Community of Pinion Hills from Wrightwood north to Highway 18 and Beekley Road west to Los Angeles County
Resources: Incident Home Page | InciWeb | SBCo Sheriff on X
The blaze tore through the San Bernardino County community of Wrightwood on Wednesday, devastating families as homes and vehicles were destroyed.
The thousands forced to evacuate their homes were in a frenzy on Wednesday.
“Luckily I was able to grab a few things, and the cat,” Gino Lewis, an evacuee, told KTLA. “I just got out of there as soon as I could. As soon as I got out of there I realized I could have been dealing with a life or death situation had I stayed really any longer at all.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a State of Emergency on Wednesday, which will deploy resources not only for the Bridge Fire, but also the Airport and Line fires ravaging Southern California.
Those affected by evacuation orders can head to the following evacuation centers:
- Pomona Fairplex: 601 W McKinley Ave, Pomona, CA 91768
Entrance via Gate 3 at the corner of McKinley and White. - Jessie Turner Health and Fitness Community Center: 15556 Summit Ave, Fontana, CA 92336
- San Bernardino County Fairgrounds building 6: 14800 7th St, Victorville CA 92395
