The Apple fire, ignited by hot debris from a vehicle’s faulty exhaust, has destroyed 12 structures, four of them homes, authorities said Tuesday, Aug. 4, as the blaze continued to move deeper into the San Bernardino Mountains.
The fire grew to 26,850 acres and containment doubled to 15% by Tuesday afternoon. Tuesday night, Cal Fire said containment had increased again to 20%. Some evacuations were still in place because winds in the San Bernardino Mountains remained a threat, with gusts up to 30 mph forecast for the afternoon.
🛰 California's #AppleFire seen from space by @NASA’s ECOSTRESS https://t.co/3rWl3OmpTd pic.twitter.com/dZaBTe714o
— NASA JPL (@NASAJPL) August 4, 2020
Of the 12 structures, eight others were outbuildings, authorities said. A damage assessment team has been investigating the burn area and new details about the structures came Tuesday.
The blaze, which started Friday just before 5 p.m. in Riverside County’s Cherry Valley, has scorched nearly 42 square miles of mostly chaparral and brush, much of it in the San Bernardino National Forest. An estimated 2,586 homes in several communities had been forced to evacuate, affecting 7,800 people.
Some evacuations were lifted Tuesday afternoon for areas of Riverside County, officials with the San Bernardino National Forest announced on Twitter. Those include areas east of Oak Glen Road and west of Potrero Road and north of Wilson Street. The community of Oak Glen remained under evacuation orders Tuesday evening, while Forest Falls, Pioneertown and Rimrock were under evacuation warnings.
The American Red Cross announced the Temporary Evacuation Point at Beaumont High School has closed as of 7:00 pm tonight.
San Bernardino County residents remaining under the Oak Glen Evacuation Order may contact 571-595-7774 for Red Cross assistance. pic.twitter.com/p5asp1gAjL
— San Bernardino National Forest (@SanBernardinoNF) August 5, 2020
Fire crews could be seen Tuesday afternoon protecting homes by backing fire engines into driveways and removing flammable items, such as debris, awnings, patio furniture and woodpiles away from the homes. Sheriff’s deputies were also patrolling those areas.
Overnight into Tuesday morning, the wildfire spread north across the head of Mill Creek Canyon and east into the San Gorgonio Wilderness, which has been closed since Aug. 2 because of the fire.
After days of advancing by thousands of acres, the fire grew by only 400 acres overnight. Wisps of smoke, not giant plumes, were visible on Tuesday as the fire burned in less-dense vegetation as it moved into the wilderness area.
The fire was active Tuesday in Millard Canyon, northwest of Cabazon, at the east side of the Apple fire footprint, and in the area of Forest Falls, the fire’s north end.
The fire was moving away from the communities on the west end, but was going east toward communities along Highway 62. It was 10 miles away from those, noted U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Kate Kramer. She said she did not know how fast the fire was moving.
The increase in containment came from firefighters completing a line on the southwest corner of the fire’s perimeter.
Robert Welker, an engineer from Cal Fire’s Fresno-Kings Unit, said chasing spot fires has been difficult.
“It can be exhausting because we have to exert so much energy going in there, picking up our hoses, going back to the engine and doing the same thing again,” he said. “It’s a little more of an adrenaline rush than for your normal fires.”
Cal Fire investigators said Monday the cause of the blaze was hot debris spewed from a faulty exhaust system on a diesel-powered vehicle that witnesses said was driving along Oak Glen Road. It sparked perhaps three separate fires, which later merged into one.
The agency asked anyone who saw a vehicle that appeared to have mechanical problems or unusual smoke coming from it traveling in the 9000 block of Oak Glen Road in Cherry Valley at the time the fires started to contact them on an anonymous hotline, 800-633-2836.
At a meeting in Banning Monday night, officials reassured area residents that security to the area was a priority, and that efforts will be made to protect fire-scarred earth from flooding when rains come.
Riverside County sheriff’s Lt. Al Campa said at the meeting that deputies will patrol vacated communities, generally north of the 10 Freeway and east of Oak Glen Road, to prevent looting.
San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies are also patrolling evacuated areas in their jurisdiction, spokeswoman Cindy Bachman said Tuesday.
Such patrols were taking place Tuesday.
Geologists, hydrologists and other experts will survey the area to determine what can be done to stem flooding, San Bernardino National Forest spokesman Mark Steinmeyer said.
“It’s not going to be that we’re going to come here to just put out the fire and leave,” Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department spokesman Jeff Larusso said. “We are going to fix the things that we can.”
The National Weather Service forecast winds of 15 to 20 mph Tuesday, with some stronger gusts, but winds in the San Bernardino Mountains will slow on Wednesday. Gusts between 5 and 10 mph and by Thursday evening some 20 mph gusts could return. Temperatures will be the 70s and 80s. the NWS said.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District smoke advisory for the San Gorgonio Pass, Coachella Valley and East Riverside County, as well as the eastern area of the San Bernardino Mountains was expected to expire Tuesday evening.
In addition to the San Gorgonio Wilderness, the Pacific Crest Trail is closed from the national forest boundary to Forest Road 1N01. All Forest Service recreation areas in Forest Falls are also closed.
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Apple fire destroys 4 homes, 8 other structures — containment up to 20 percent - San Bernardino County Sun
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