After a series of fires began to pop up in Southern California this past week, Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency. Recent blazes in Moreno Valley, Calimesa, San Bernardino, and Banning were likely driven by high winds, low humidity levels, and dry areas throughout the Inland Empire.
On Thursday, the Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) Company initiated a safety precaution across the state to prevent any fires from starting by cutting off electrical currents in power lines, leaving more than one million homeowners without power according to PG&E. The precaution will remain in effect for up to a week but PG&E have worked to establish power in affected ares across the state according to PG&E.
The precaution was taken to ensure high winds did not allow branches or electrical lines to cause any significant wildfires, according to PG&E. The action has yet to be reported the cause of any of the ongoing fires in the San Bernardino and Riverside counties (as per 6:11 p.m. 10/13).
Reported in the Desert Sun, the blackout in electrical lines affected well over 60,000 SoCal Edison running residents in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The high winds heightened the fires destructive force, a significant factor in the “Sandlewood” Calimesa, California, blaze. The Riverside County Fire Department (RCFD), in cooperation with Cal Fire, first reported the blaze on October 10 at 1:58 p.m. Fire personnel arrived on scene at 3:30 p.m.
According the Cal Fire Peace Officers, a trash truck carrying waste that was burning had pulled over to dump the trash out. However, the winds picked up the embers into nearby vegetation.
The fire has killed 2 people so far, 89-year-old Villa Calimesa Mobile Home Park resident Lois Arvickson and an unidentified second person according to Riverside County sheriff’s officials.
According to RCFD, the fire has grown to 1,011 acres in size but is contained as of Oct. 14, at 8 a.m. The fire has reported to have burned down over 70 structures.
All evacuation orders have been lifted resulting from the Sandalwood Fire. However, the Villa Calimesa Mobile Home Park remains uninhabitable and closed due to unsafe conditions.
In the early hours on Sunday, San Bernardino Fire officials responded to a structure fire on the crossroad of University Ave. and Hallmark Parkway. Reports of people trapped inside a nearby structure that was smoking prompted SBFD to use the Commercial Structure fire response.
The fire was reported contained at 9:15 a.m. on Sunday while SB fire officials are still determining the case of the fire. SBFD battled through heavy smoke in order to rescue any residents trapped within the buildings but no victims were found.
No reports of significant damage to the property has been found either. For more details and information visit https://www.sbcfire.org/#2367644-twitter.
In Moreno Valley on Oct. 10, RCFD had received reports of a trailer fire with extension to the vegetation. First reports of the fire came in at the 9000 block of Reche Canyon Road at approximately 12:54 p.m.
According to the RCFD and Cal Fire, the blaze was fully contained early at 7:30 a.m. on October 13. The fire singed nearly 350 acres of the foothills in Moreno Valley.
The fire was quaint in size at 100 acres but firefighters worked quickly to put out the flames before the winds progressed it any further.
Cal Fire and the RCFD are still determining the cause of the Reche fire as of October 13 but evacuation orders and road closures have ceased.
For full details of the Reche fire, see http://www.rvcfire.org/_Layouts/Incident%20Information/IncidentInfoDetail.aspx?4516
On Oct. 10, RCFD responded to reports of a wild land fire in the area of Wolfskill Truck Road about four miles south of Banning, California. A shooting in a dry vegetation field is what Cal Fire determined to be the cause of the fire with winds possibly accelerating the blaze.
Fire personnel enabled evacuation warnings in affected areas of the blaze which had ceased as of October 11, 5:20 p.m. Through the tireless work of Cal Fire, RCFD, Bureau of Land Management, and USFS-San Bernardino Firefighters, the fire was 100% contained on Saturday at 5 p.m. with only around 75 acres damaged.
For full details of the incident, see http://www.rvcfire.org/_Layouts/Incident%20Information/IncidentInfoDetail.aspx?4518.
In a recent press release, San Bernardino County Health Officer Dr. Maxwell Ohikhuare advises county residents “with sensitive health conditions who live near areas affected by the Sandalwood Fire to stay alert to changing smoke levels.”
Ohikhuare also states that individuals with asthma, bronchitis, emphysema or other respiratory diseases to always have their medication on hand and to remain indoors at all times if possible.
While the recent fire outbreaks are alarming, on Wednesday, October 9, public information officer Eric Sherwin advised the public that San Bernardino County Fire had added additional units to its on-duty personnel.
The announcement came amidst the red flag warning from the National Weather Service based on expected high winds, warm temperatures as well as low humidity levels which can lead to rapid fire growth.
San Bernardino fire officials continue to urge the public to remain vigilant and report any potential fires by calling 9-1-1. This information was up to date as of 10-14-19.