Bridge fire breaks out and burns in mountain resorts in Southern California

Three wildfires raged in Southern California on Tuesday night, one moving from Orange County to the Inland Empire, one in San Bernardino County and the other near the mountain communities of Mt. Baldy and Wrightwood.

The Bridge Fire took a dangerous turn Tuesday night when it spread from 4,000 acres to 34,000 acres in a matter of hours, growing eight times its size as it moved toward Mountain High and Wrightwood ski areas.

Late Tuesday, homes in Wrightwood were ablaze, with burning embers blowing from both sides of Highway 2. Authorities did not provide precise estimates of the damage.

A video from Mountain High showed flames ripping through a ski lift area. Other videos showed wind-fanned flames leaping across mountainsides and engulfing the terrain.

The Bridge Fire broke out in the Angeles National Forest, with fire activity increasing in the northeast, the Angeles National Forest reported Tuesday afternoon. The fire danger for visitors to the area, including the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, has been raised to “very high.” The fire has triggered mandatory evacuation orders for communities in the area.

The Line Fire in San Bernardino County began Thursday and had burned nearly 33,000 acres. It was 14% contained by Tuesday evening, Cal Fire said. Evacuations were ordered for several communities southwest of the fire in case winds shift.

As of Tuesday evening, the emergency response team had not reported any building damage from the Line Fire. But at least one house on Pine Cone Drive in Running Springs went up in flames, according to a Times photographer. Thick smoke covered the street, making it difficult for firefighters and bystanders to breathe.

Three firefighters were injured in the first few days of the fire before fire officials officially took command Saturday evening, spokesman Arnold Menjivar said.

In Orange County, the Airport Fire had spread to more than 19,000 acres and was 0% contained as of Tuesday afternoon. It started Monday afternoon amid a persistent heat wave that fanned fires across the region, brought winds that poisoned the air with smoke and ash and forced schools and businesses to close until conditions improved.

In its first few hours, the fire raced up Trabuco Canyon, moving away from foothill communities like Robinson Ranch.

But on Tuesday morning, a thick, gray cloud of smoke covered the hill above.

Authorities are in the process of transferring emergency personnel from smaller wildfires to these three large fires. Emergency personnel from other states are also being brought in through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact program, said Todd Hopkins, Cal Fire battalion chief, at a press conference on Tuesday.

“We’re getting resources released from fires like the Roblar or Boone fire,” he said, both of which are more than 50% contained. “Resources are being reallocated to (the airport fire) or some of the other fires raging to the south.”

A woman walking through the neighborhood waved to the firefighters as they raced up the hill toward the inferno. “Thank you!” she called out as they passed.

Michael Bernardin, 62, was not at home in Robinson Ranch when the airport fire broke out on Monday.

When he tried to go home, the road to the neighborhood was already closed. He parked at a shopping center and walked the half-mile to his house in the heat. He packed two suitcases – everything he could carry – and grabbed his dogs, Pepper and Honey Noodles. He went back a second time to get more things, not knowing when his family would return home.

“One of the suitcases was so full that I don’t think we could have checked it on the plane,” he said. “It was hot and I had trouble.”

On Tuesday morning, Bernardin and his wife, Roseann, were heading back to their home after staying at a friend’s house in San Clemente. They plan to stay there until the winds shift, he said.

There have been several fires in the 27 years they have lived in the area, but this is the first time they have had to evacuate.

“I didn’t sleep much last night,” he said.

The proximity to nature and open spaces makes Trabuco Canyon an attractive place for residents, but also makes it vulnerable to massive fires.

Local resident Marilynn Reideler drove her Ford F-150 truck through the neighborhood, picking up residents who were struggling up the hill with heavy suitcases and bags.

“It’s still hot and it’s a long walk,” she said.

Despite the evacuation orders, many residents, including Reideler, decided to wait before deciding to leave.

Robert McCoy was happy to accept a ride on Tuesday morning as temperatures climbed into the 80s. He and his wife had left on Monday out of an abundance of caution but now felt safe to return.

“The firefighters are on it,” said McCoy, 61. “I wanted to stay (Monday), but (my wife) was nervous.”

Orange County Fire Department investigators say the cause of the fire at the airport was a spark from heavy equipment workers were using to place large boulders on Trabuco Creek Road. The fire was believed to be accidental.

Two firefighters suffered heat-related injuries while fighting the fire and one civilian was taken to hospital for smoke inhalation.

About 1,000 firefighters battled the blaze while helicopters dumped thousands of gallons of water on the flames and planes covered the hills with pink flame retardant to block the fire’s path. The Orange County Board of Supervisors declared a state of emergency Tuesday because of the fire.

Steve Kilgore stood guard outside his Raintree Lane home with binoculars as flames engulfed brush along the ridge above his neighborhood.

Kilgore and his neighbors who stayed behind are working shifts through the night to monitor the fire and decide if and when to leave. His truck is packed with family photos and essentials in case the winds shift.

“It’s awful to leave your home in this situation,” he said. “It defies logic. I’ve never had to spend 20 to 30 minutes rethinking all the valuable things in our lives.”

Wayne Nelson, a fellow Raintree resident whose property borders the Cleveland National Forest, stood in the driveway with his wife and watched as a helicopter dropped thousands of gallons of water on the inferno.

He said fire trucks remained in their neighborhood throughout the night to monitor the spread of the fire.

“The firefighters saved these homes,” he said. “Last night was literally an air show here. We are so grateful to them.”

People watch the rapidly spreading airport fire in Trabuco Canyon from Coyote Canyon Trail in O’Neill Regional Park on Monday.

(Don Kelsen)

As temperatures at the fire site rose above 30 degrees on Tuesday, the fire overcame the Santa Ana Mountains and spread north and east toward Riverside County.

Authorities expected the fire to continue to spread; there was no immediate threat to homes in Orange County.

“That’s the main goal of any fire,” said Steve Concialdi, captain of the Orange County Fire Department. “It’s OK to burn in natural vegetation, but we don’t want to burn down homes or businesses.”

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department urged residents along Rose Canyon Road, Trabuco Creek Road, Trabuco Canyon Road, Trabuco Oaks Drive, Joplin Loop and Cook’s Corner to evacuate. Mandatory evacuation orders were in effect for homes in the Robinson Ranch and Trabuco Highlands communities. Mandatory evacuation orders were also in effect for the Highlands apartment complex.

A long-term shelter was set up at Rancho Santa Margarita and large animals could be transported to the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa.

Another wildfire broke out Tuesday morning in Fairmont, about 70 miles northwest of Los Angeles. The Apollo Fire had spread to 800 acres within the first five hours but is now 100% contained, officials said.

According to the National Weather Service, the days of unseasonably hot weather are expected to end on Wednesday, but not before heat and wind create new challenges for firefighters.

Firefighters will also face temperatures of around 35 degrees and wind speeds of 32 km/h on Tuesday, said Philip Gonsalves, a meteorologist with the weather service in San Diego.

“It will literally fan the flames,” he said. “It will increase the speed at which the fire spreads. That’s the bad news. The good news is that the direction of spread will become a little more predictable.”

According to the weather service, winds from an approaching low pressure system are expected to bring smoke from the Bridge, Line and Airport fires to southern Nevada and Arizona in the next few days.

Nicole Bennigsdorf, 40, has lived in the foothills of Trabuco Canyon for more than 12 years and has seen about five fires in the area during that time. But never has a fire come close enough to her home in Rancho Santa Margarita for her to see the flames.

“I can see the red-orange amber on the ridge that I’ve never seen before,” she said, standing outside her home about seven miles south of the airport fire.

After Bennigsdorf heard the news about the fire on social media platform X on Monday afternoon, she stepped outside around 3 p.m. and saw hot, humid air and a large cloud of smoke in the distance.

“It was a very distinct, very dark cloud of smoke, and it was much windier outside than it was at 2 p.m., and the base (of the fire) just kept getting wider,” she said.

By 4 p.m., the sound of helicopters flying in and out of the smoke could be heard in the neighborhood, and she saw three or four planes simultaneously dropping water and flame retardant on the fire.

“This is the biggest (fire) I’ve ever seen, and it was definitely the hottest, most humid weather we’ve ever had, and it was just brutal out here,” she said. “I’m drenched in sweat just standing still outside.”