By Elise Gray
Special to the Alpine Mountaineer
At a community meeting held on the evening of Sept. 14 at the Hootman Center in Running Springs, local officials and fire authorities provided updates on the ongoing Line Fire, which began in Highland on Sept. 6. They discussed several critical topics regarding safety, fire containment and upcoming challenges.
According to Deputy Chief John Walker of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, more than 3,000 firefighters were actively working to contain the fire, supported by 150 officers and four UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters for water bucket dropping operations, two C-130 aircraft with modular airborne fire fighting systems (MAFFS), four 20-person hand crews and one military police company to support the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department with traffic control points in evacuated areas.
Walker stressed the importance of evacuating when advised, as waiting until the last minute could endanger lives. The sheriff’s department also announced it had arrested 17 individuals for various crimes in the evacuation zones, including theft and narcotics possession.
Gayle Hagler, the air resource advisor for the Interagency Wildland Fire Air Quality Response Program provided an update on air quality, tracking smoke movement and analyzing pollution levels via the AirNow Fire and Smoke Map. She explained that smoke from the fire would likely be pushed north by shifting winds, bringing temporary relief to affected communities. However, with Santa Ana winds expected later in September, fire officials urged residents to remain vigilant.
According to Crisanta Gonzalez, director of the Office of Emergency Services (OES), local officials are currently garnering resources from all the counties with every agency. On Sept. 17 at 11:00 a.m., officials were handing out food and water at the Hootman Center to those impacted by power outages due to the evacuation. There will also be resources available for residents needing license and passport replacements. Residents were urged to sign up for alerts from the county by setting up a profile on the website, prepare.sbcounty.gov. A dumpster was set up outside of the Running Springs library for the disposal of trash and spoiled food.
Highway closures were also addressed by California Highway Patrol Lt. Nicholas King, who noted that most roads have reopened except for Highway 330, which suffered significant damage from the fire. Inspectors are assessing the damage; according to Caltrans, the road could remain closed for several months. The roadway must be safe before anyone is able to access it.
Josh Boehm of the unified incident command representing San Bernardino National Forest emphasized the importance of past fire prevention projects in limiting the spread of the fire. “The fact that we only lost one structure proves the work we’ve done over the years is effective,” Boehm said. He cautioned residents that, while recent rains have helped, the fire is not yet fully contained, and resources will remain on the mountain until the first snowfall to ensure flare-ups do not occur.
Initially, experts predicted that the Line Fire would burn roughly 100,000 acres. As of Sept. 18, the Line Fire had burned 39,181 acres, with four structures damaged and one structure destroyed. It had reached 50 percent containment and still poses a threat to approximately 36,400 remaining structures.
Residents are encouraged to prepare for the potential dangers of embers brought in by the Santa Ana winds by clearing brush around their homes and following local emergency alerts.
With recovery efforts underway, officials continue to monitor the situation, emphasizing the importance of community cooperation and patience as the fire season continues.
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