San Bernardino fire forced residents to flee; officials probe cause

A fast-moving fire that destroyed homes and forced evacuations in the Southern California city of San Bernardino was stopped in its tracks by late Monday, and crews were working Tuesday to determine how many buildings were damaged.
The Edgehill Fire is now 75% contained. Firefighters were able to take advantage of lower overnight temperatures after facing excessive heat the previous day, San Bernardino County Fire said in an update.
“At this point, the fire is very much under control,” the San Bernardino Police Department said Monday evening.
The Edgehill Fire started on Little Mountain in San Bernardino around 2:40 p.m. local time and had burned about 100 acres by 4:53 p.m., according to KTLA-TV, which aired footage of homes being overtaken by flames in real time. By 5:45 p.m., the fire’s forward motion had been stopped, and on Tuesday morning, the fire department said it was holding at 54 acres.
Buildings in the fire’s path were reduced to rubble and the shells of burned-out cars remained in streets as fire crews responded.
Officials are now investigating how the fire started and had detained and released at least one person in connection with the investigation.
The San Bernardino County Fire Department issued evacuation orders on Monday for homes on the south side of the mountain, which is about an hour east of Los Angeles.
“Little Mountain is a community that is not unaccustomed to fire,” fire department spokesperson Eric Sherwin told KTLA. “The residents here are aware of fire and the threat that exists in this community. As engines were pulling up, people were already evacuating out of this area.”
Temperatures in San Bernardino hit a high of 109 on Monday and are expected to reach 106 on Tuesday. The area is under an excessive heat warning from the National Weather Service until Tuesday night.
The Edgehill fire is the latest wildfire to spark in the western half of the country.
The Park Fire continues to burn in northern California, becoming the fourth-largest fire in the state’s history. The fire was 34% contained as of Tuesday morning and has singed over 414,000 acres and destroyed 640 structures, according to Cal Fire.
Over 30 major fires are also burning in the Pacific Northwest. Fires near Durkee, Oregon have burned about 460,000 acres and the Pioneer Fire in Washington has burned for just under two months.
The fires in Oregon put over 9,000 people under an evacuation warning Monday, with 1,747 under a level three notice that advised residents to leave the area immediately, according to the Oregon Office of Emergency Management.