By DOUGLAS W. MOTLEY
Senior Writer
Firefighters had their hands full on Sunday, June 16 when a five-acre brush fire was reported near Cajon Boulevard and Keenbrook Road in the Cajon Pass at the same time as a swift-moving brushfire that broke out near Hesperia on Saturday, June 15 briefly posed a threat to the mountain communities.
Dubbed the Hesperia Fire by arriving firefighters, the blaze was first reported around 6 p.m. on Saturday in the vicinity of Highway 173 and Arrowhead Lake Road.
Noting that the cause of the blaze is unknown, authorities said the fire, which was first reported at seven acres, had grown in size to 300 acres in the first two hours, prompting an evacuation warning for the Arrowhead Equestrian Estates. By 8:40 p.m. strong winds had increased the blaze to around 500 acres, with only 5-percent containment. By 10 p.m. the blaze, which was burning between Hesperia and Silverwood Lake, had grown to 700 acres.
According to the CHP’s website (cad.chp.ca.gov), fire authorities requested the closure of Arrowhead Lake Road at Ranchero Road on the north end of Summit Valley and Highway 173 closed at its junction with Highway 138 to the west. With the wind shifting southward on Sunday morning, threatening a housing tract where many homeowners keep horses, the fire had grown to 1,330 acres and was still only 7 percent contained.
With the aid of firefighting aircraft, the blaze, which briefly threatened the mountaintop communities, appeared to be waning, according to Cal Fire spokeswoman Chloe Castillo, who said, “It looks like it’s dying down. They have six hand crews on scene that are making really good progress.”
On Sunday afternoon, authorities said no injuries had been reported and that the fire’s cause is under investigation.
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