California’s Bridge Fire makes progress on containment

After burning more than 50,000 acres, the Bridge Fire in the San Gabriel Canyon reached 3% contained Friday morning — a welcome sign of progress after evacuations were expanded the night before following several days of 0% containment.
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The wildfire has been burning since Sunday afternoon, spreading from Los Angeles to San Bernardino County and destroying 33 homes in the Wrightwood and Mt. Baldy areas. Firefighters managed to get the containment up over Thursday night as they were aided by cooler, less dry weather, according to Cal Fire, or the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. 
On Thursday, firefighters said the weather turned in their favor as winds decreased, humidity increased and temperatures dropped. Crews built containment lines and continue to work around the clock in the air and from the ground to fight the flames. By Friday morning, fire officials said there was minimal fire growth overnight, and they are working to put out the hot spots. 
The blaze was first reported around 3 p.m. Sunday near East Fork Road and Glendora Mountain Road in the San Gabriel Canyon area in Los Angeles County. It continued to chew through the Angeles National Forest, nearly growing tenfold within a few hours on Tuesday. In the afternoon, Cal Fire mapped the fire at about 4,000 acres. 
Within a few hours, they updated the size to 34,247 acres before growing to 48,000 acres late Wednesday morning.  
As of Friday, the fire has grown to 51,884 acres and is 3% contained, according to Cal Fire. It is the largest active fire in the state of California and fire officials say there is still a threat, and things can quickly change despite the drop in temperatures. 
“Today, the Bridge Fire is still active,” Cal Fire said in a statement just before 6 a.m. Friday. 
“However, the behavior moderated significantly due to the slight increase in humidity and temperature decrease,” the statement continues. “Firefighters made great progress on the ground, aided by aircraft to attack the fire aggressively 24 hours per day.”
Crews continue to work to protect homes within the communities of Mt. Baldy, Wrightwood and Piñon Hills.
Wrightwood was directly in the fire’s path of destruction as the blaze exploded into the community Wednesday evening. Fire crews responded and focused on life-safety efforts in the area as they rescued people who could not escape the flames.
The entire Wrightwood community remains under evacuation orders.
“We had deputies and firefighters going house to house finding people that were unable to evacuate, loading them up into ambulances, putting them into patrol cars, and doing whatever we could to get them out of the area,” said Eric Sherwin, a spokesman for the San Bernardino County Fire Department.
Sherwin said the flames took over Wrightwood so quickly that life-saving efforts were the only priority. 
Ski lifts at the Mountain High Ski resort went up in flames, but the resort itself appears to be mostly unharmed by fire as staff at the resort turned the snow-making machines on to keep vegetation wet.   
Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said at a Wednesday news conference that the Bridge Fire has destroyed 20 homes in the Mt. Badly area, 13 homes in the Wrightwood area, and six cabins in the wilderness were also wiped out. He said It is currently threatening 2,500 structures with no reported deaths or significant injuries. 
Earlier in the week, firefighters resources around Southern California were strained as several local agencies, and even the National Guard, responded to three massive blazes across four counties.
“We have 480 personnel assigned to the (Bridge) fire, and the Southern California region has two other large fires burning at this time: the Line Fire in San Bernardino County and the Airport Fire in Orange County. As a region, we are currently at a drawdown for fire personnel and resources,” Marrone said.
Before evacuations were again expanded, Sherwin said it was possible communities could still be threatened by the Bridge Fire even as some weather conditions improve.
“We still have an established fire with very dry fuel, with the littlest of breeze — we can see the ember cast right now, and those embers land here in the community,” Sherwin said. “It still presents a very real threat despite the ease in temperatures.” 
Over Tuesday, the wildfire had shifted and exploded in growth as it moved into the Wrightwood community, Sherwin said.
“Once it approached Highway 2, the canyon winds took a section of it and literally exploded it into the community of Wrightwood. That threat stayed with us through the overnight hours with very high winds,” he said. 
He said crews will eventually assess fire damage within the Wrightwood community, plus all the other communities that exist within the Bridge Fire footprint, but as of Wednesday morning, the fight to control the fire remains a priority.
LA County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath signed a proclamation declaring a local emergency as the fire continued northeast toward Pinon Hills.   
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department issued a mandatory evacuation order for the East Fork communities of Camp Williams and River Community on Sunday evening. On Monday, an evacuation order was issued for all residents north of San Antonio Dam up to the Mount Baldy Resort.
A full list of the latest evacuation orders, road closures and more can be found here. Below is an interactive map outlining all of the evacuation orders and warnings.