#cranston fire

[rjzimmerman]

The California wildfires

Cranston fire, in the San Jacinto Mountains (SoCal)

13,000 acres, 17% contained, 7,000 people evacuated, 5 homes destroyed. An article in the Los Angeles Times (link) tells us that the residents of Idyllwild have experienced three fires over the past few years (1996, 2006, 2013), so they’ve been preparing for another, which helped keep their town relatively unscathed. Removing dead brush and trees, creating safe space around structures, preparing for evacuations and alerting the public about evacuation routes, etc.

Carr fire, Shasta County/Redding (Northern California)

This one is monster ugly. It’s now 80,900 acres; Thursday morning, two days ago, it was 20,000 acres. 5% contained. Two firefighters dead. The fire was so strong it was producing wind gusts of up to 50 mph and fire tornados. 38,000 people evacuated, 500 structures burned and thousands more threatened. 

Ferguson fire, Yosemite National Park

Now 49,600 acres, but containment numbers better at 29%. The parts of Yosemite National Park that are now closed will remain closed until at least August 3.

[rjzimmerman]

Man charged with starting 11,500-acre Cranston fire, eight others in Riverside County

An arson fire raged toward the mountain community, but firefighters had a plan to prevent it from sweeping through. Here's how it worked.

The guy was driving around, throwing lit flares out his car window. Think about that. Why do something like that?

11,500 acres, 3% contained. 4,000 homes emptied, at least 6,000 residents evacuated.

[rjzimmerman]

The Cranston fire in the San Jacinto Mountains of SoCal

This one is personal to me. We’re safe and warm and today and not so wet back in the Chicago area. If we were at our Palm Springs home, we’d be experiencing temperatures lingering around 120°F and we’d be seeing this overhead:

That’s smoke from the Cranston fire, which is burning up in the San Jacinto Mountains, causing the evacuation of 2,100 homes and 3,200 people in Idyllwild, Mountain Center and other mountain communities. Latest news is that the entire town of Idyllwild has been ordered evacuated, meaning evacuations could involve about 12,000 people. Neighbor told me this morning that our homes (and pools....hate to throw that in) are covered in ash. This morning, the fire was 4,700 acres and 5% contained. I’m guessing it’s well over 5,000 acres by now and the containment is probably below 10%.

Why yet another fire up there? Drought, high temps, unusual wind patterns. All the signs of those two words.....climate change. Yeah, fires happen all the time, but the intensity is different now.

A man has been arrested for arson, and held on $1 million bond. 

Video from ABC/Good Morning America:

Among the other problems with this fire are the animals......wild and livestock and a large rescue center called Living Free Animal Sanctuary. All the animals at Living Free were evacuated, and the firefighters saved the buildings. They actually are using it as a base camp and a place to sleep. The wild animals up there include a lot of bears, mountain lions, bobcats and smaller mammals, and the area abuts the habitat of the Peninsular Bighorn Sheep, which are an endangered species. Farm animals and large domestic pets include goats, horses, donkeys, pigs, sheep, cattle, cows, llamas, alpacas and so on.

Some photos:

[rjzimmerman]

Update on the Cranston Fire in SoCal

Now it’s 7,500 acres, and containment is down from 5% to 3%.

One of our neighbors in Palm Springs sent us this photo showing the smoke cloud blanketing Palm Springs. Our house is the one you see in the middle. Neighbors say that ash is dropping everywhere. You can barely make out the sun toward the upper right corner. The fire is over the ridge and just to the left of that bright spot toward the left. Palm Springs is not in any danger, but the smoke and ash are problems.

Another fire started this afternoon about 15 miles toward the south of the Cranston Fire, along the same Hwy 74. Last I checked, it was about 100 acres, 0% contained.

Governor Brown declared a state of emergency in Riverside County.

In the meantime, the Ferguson fire is about 45,000 acres, 27%, but the wind shifted direction, posing a direct threat to Yosemite National Park.

The Living Free Animal Sanctuary animals are all over the area. Some photos of the cats and dogs being evacuated or in temporary shelters (mostly, volunteer or staff homes), the horse trailer to take away the horses and burros, some donations. The Sanctuary has requested donations of specific things, such as swamp coolers for the larger animals. (Temperatures today were in the 100′s.)

Some photos from this afternoon, including the evacuation of Idyllwild.

[jennithedragon]

Cranston Fire

First of all, I am currently nowhere near the fire, so please don’t worry about me in that way.

However!

My family owns a cabin in Idyllwild. I am currently very upset about this whole thing. To be honest, I used to have nightmares about that cabin. Y’know. The kind of nightmares where you get sucked into the walls of the house and die, or you’d be asleep next to a cute doll and it posses you... They weren’t anything like this, though. I can truly only imagine what the people that actually live up there are going through.

My best wishes go out to the firefighters, the teams reporting on this awful fire, the residents, the animals and pets, and everyone else in between that is currently being affected by this tragedy.

I can only hope that the person that reportedly started the fire has a very good, long think about what they did. :(

[rjzimmerman]

The fire is burning in the San Jacinto Mountains between Hemet and Mountain Center. The area southwest of Idyllwild is being evacuated.

This is the third fire in the San Jacinto Mountains in the Idyllwild and Mountain Center areas over the past few years. Idyllwild is a few miles up the mountains from Palm Springs, and is one of my hang-outs when I need cooler air and the smell of pines, or just a change in scenery. This fire has grown rapidly today, and makes me really worried. 1,200 acres and 0% contained.

(Photo: Colin Atagi/The Desert Sun)

Excerpt:

One person has been arrested in connection with a fast-moving, out of control 1,200-acre wildfire Wednesday afternoon that has forced evacuations in the San Jacinto Mountains in an area southwest of Idyllwild, authorities said.  

The arrest was made by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, according to the California Highway Patrol. The sheriff's department has not confirmed the arrest.

The Cranston Fire was reported about noon off Highway 74 in an area between Hemet and Mountain Center, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The highway has since been closed to traffic.

It is "zero percent contained," said Rebecca Miller, a spokeswoman for the San Bernardino National Forest. And southern wind-flow could keep it going toward the north, said Adam Roser, meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Residents have been instructed to evacuate to a center set up at Banning High School, 100 W. Westward Ave in Banning, according to the national forest.

Evacuations have also been ordered in Mountain Center along McGaugh Road and McCall Park Road, officials said.

"We have mandatory evacuations right now for southwest Idyllwild -- that's a couple hundred acres. There's road closures," said Zach Behrens, a spokesman for San Bernadino National Forest. He characterized the fire's spread as fast.

[happy-radio]

This is about an hour away from where I live. To put it briefly, arson is suspected, 800 acres have burned, and it is currently 0% contained.

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