By RHEA-FRANCES TETLEY
Staff Writer
On Saturday morning, July 4, a mid-morning fire began in the San Moritz area of Crestline as the the annual Jamboree Days parade was about to begin. The parade goers who lined Lake Drive noticed the black smoke arising from the residential hillside.
A San Bernardino County Fire engine drove through the parade route from Station 25 with its lights flashing and its siren on. The parade floats quickly moved to the side of the road to allow the firetruck to pass, putting into place the emergency plan the Jamboree Days organizers had made in advance.
A residential structure fire had broken out in the 600 block of Arth Drive. The black smoke and flames were easily visible from the Lake Gregory Village section of the parade route.
Firefighters were able to contain the fire to the one home.
According to Capt. Craig Harris of the Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Station, “Deputies responded to a 911 call for service at the incident location. The caller reported his brother, Clifton Bedore, 46, threatened to kill him and the family dog. Deputies arrived and attempted to talk to Clifton through a window, asking him to exit the residence.
“As deputies were speaking to Clifton, they observed him starting a fire inside the home. Deputies entered the home and extinguished the fire. Clifton ran to the lower level of the residence and barricaded himself in another room, where he started a second fire.
“Clifton came out of the house when the smoke became too intense and was detained. He was arrested and booked into West Valley Detention Center for arson,” the captain said.
Sheriff’s deputies evacuated two adults and the family dog from the residence.
When County Fire arrived, they immediately began flooding the home with water from many directions, proactively protecting the nearby homes. The fire was contained to the home where the fire began and the threat to the surrounding vegetation and other homes both on Arth and Arbula Drives was mitigated by the firefighters, through their pro-active, swift response.
Neighbors were frantically watering down their properties with their own hoses, preventing the fire from burning their landscaping and their homes.
Barbara Bedore and her family have lived in Crestline for over 30 years; her children attended Rim schools.
San Bernardino County Fire thanked Cal Fire and the San Bernardino National Forest firefighters for their assistance.
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