By Mike Cruz, Leonor Vivanco and Andrew Edwards
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (California)
Copyright 2006 MediaNews Group, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
YUCCA VALLEY, Calif. — Anticipated changes in the weather worried firefighters Saturday as they prepared to enter the second week in their battle against one of the nation’s largest wildfires.
“The fire activity has declined, but the potential increase in wind that comes with a thunderstorm can rapidly spread a fire so that’s a big concern,” said Matt Streck, spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Firefighters made significant progress containing the Sawtooth Complex Fire and continued their assault on the Millard Complex Fire on Saturday. Low winds and increasing humidity made it possible to cut lines around and prevent the larger Sawtooth fire from threatening mountain communities. Videos: Saw Tooth Fire Update, 07/15 | Saw Tooth Fire, 07/12
Photo Galleries: Another day of battling fire | Devastation | Nighttime on the fireline By late Saturday, the Sawtooth blaze west of Yucca Valley burned 60,000 acres and was about 50 percent contained. The Millard fire, which began north of Cabazon, had burned 15,572 acres by Saturday night and was 10 percent contained.
The two fires merged Friday, near Mission Creek drainage area. Together, the blazes generated a pyrocumulus smoke cloud as high as 30,000 feet, said Robert Balfour, National Weather Service incident meteorologist.
Though some feared the cloud would wreak havoc on the area, Balfour said only “a few drops of rain ... came out of that.”
The real trouble could come as thunderstorms move out of Arizona into California during the next couple of days. Fire officials warn the storms could generate strong winds and lightning, which sparked the Sawtooth and Millard blazes July 9.
There is a 30 percent chance of rain today and a 40 percent chance Monday. The area could see as much as two inches of rain Tuesday and Wednesday, which could lead to flash flooding, Balfour said.
With a combined 75,000 acres of the desert charred, rains could lead to flash-flooding, which could trigger power outages and road closures, said Denise Benson, division manager of the San Bernardino County’s Office of Emergency Services.
She warned drivers not to go through running water.
Although the Sawtooth and Millard fires have combined, firefighters continued Saturday to battle the blazes on separate fronts. The dividing line between the two fires is Mission Creek.
Officials said the Sawtooth fire posed no immediate threat to the Big Bear Valley, though its western flank continued its northwest trek toward Onyx Summit.
Fire officials dubbed the western flank the Heart Fire, and announced plans to create a command center at the Bear Mountain Ski Resort to coordinate the attack on the blaze.
“Based on the fire behavior experienced (Friday) and the unpredictability of it, it became extremely difficult to run both operations from (Yucca Valley),” said Mike Dietrich, chief of fire and aviation management for the San Bernardino National Forest.
The U.S. Forest Service will head up the new operation, which is expected to free up California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection resources at the mountainside. The Sawtooth fire was headed away from Burns Canyon on the west side, while its eastern flank headed southeasterly toward Mission Creek, fire officials said.
“It’s burning in real steep terrain with little access, so its going to take some time to get fully contained,” said Carol Beckley, public information officer for the U.S. Forest Service.
Both fires have been battled from the skies, with helicopters and tankers bombarding the blazes with retardant.
The CDF is considering using a DC-10 air plane that can carry 12,000 gallons of water or fire retardant — about 10 times more than a standard CDF air tanker — to battle the blazes, said CDF spokesman Mike Padilla.
No decision was made Saturday on whether CDF would use the plane. A decision was expected today or Monday, Padilla said.
“If we can get it to work, we certainly want to do it,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Millard fire continued to steadily consume vegetation in the Whitewater Canyon area with little help from the weather.
Although heavy winds were predicted to blow from the north Saturday night, the fire was not expected to immediately threaten any homes in Whitewater, said Drew Smith, a fire behavior analyst who works for the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
“It’s always possible given proper fire dynamics. It’s not predicted to happen tonight,” he said.
Smith said he expected the Millard fire to be active another one to two weeks, especially due to the bark-beetle infested trees at higher elevations.
Anthony Sanchez, foreman of the Smokey Bear hot shot crew from New Mexico working the Millard fire, said he is used to fighting wildfires over the long-term.
“You know when you sign up for this job, you’re going to be out for 14 days at a time.”
Sawtooth Complex Fire
ACRES BURNED: 60,000
CONTAINMENT: 50 percent
STRUCTURES DESTROYED: 50 homes; 8 mobile homes; 13 garages; 171 outbuildings; 191 cars and pickups; three recreational vehicles; 27 trailers; two railcars; 9 tractors
FATALITIES: 1
INJURIES: 10, all minor
TOTAL FIRE PERSONNEL: 2,902
EVACUATIONS: n/a
Millard Complex Fire
ACRES BURNED: 15,572
CONTAINMENT: 10 percent
STRUCTURES DESTROYED: not available
INJURIES: not available
TOTAL FIRE PERSONNEL: 935
EVACUATIONS: No immediate threats to communities
Note: The two fires merged Friday. Information was updated as of 9 p.m. Saturday.
Source: California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and U.S. Forest Service.