California high desert burning (Blue Cut Fire)

KPCC FM (scpr.org, 8-17-16); CBS Los Angeles; CC Liu, Seth Auberon, Wisdom Quarterly

Where will the Los Angeles lions go?

A wildfire burning out of control in the mountainous Cajon Pass is heading toward the community of Wrightwood Tuesday afternoon, U.S. Forest officials said.

 

By early Tuesday morning, the Blue Cut Fire had burned 30,000 acres in San Bernardino County and forced school closures and evacuation orders affecting more than 34,000 homes, prompting evacuation orders for more than 80,000 people, including Wrightwood.

This is a developing story. Refresh for the latest information.

• Evacuations | Road closures | School closures | Air quality | Live video

UPDATES

• 4:50 pm 2 C-130 planes added to firefighting efforts
• 1:45 pm Low humidity, high temperatures drive Blue Cut Fire
• 1:30 pm Blue Cut Fire burns toward Wrightwood
• 11:00 am Many homes lost, but no time to survey yet 

Update 4:50 pm 2 C-130 planes added to firefighting efforts

Two military firefighting planes are joining the attack on the Blue Cut Fire. Two C-130 planes equipped with tanks capable of dropping 3,000 gallons of water or fire retardant are being sent to the Inland Empire from the Air National Guard Base at Channel Islands, said spokesman Capt. Will Martin.

 

“The C-130s just add some punch to Cal Fire's efforts as they get spread pretty thin with so many fires,” he added.

 

Cal Fire made the request for the additional planes Wednesday morning, and they could be on the fire lines by the evening.

 

The Air National Guard usually uses the C-130s for military transportation and shipping cargo, but they can also be fitted out with the special tanks when need for firefighting, Martin said.

Update 1:45 p.m. Low humidity, high temperatures drive Blue Cut Fire

The critical elements to the Blue Cut Fire, according to the National Weather... More