Line Fire explodes to over 20,000 acres; state of emergency declared in San Bernardino County – MASHAHER

Crews are continuing to battle the rapidly spreading Line Fire in San Bernardino County following a state of emergency declaration by Gov. Gavin Newsom Saturday night.

The blaze first broke out Thursday around 6:30 p.m. near Baseline Street and Alpin Street in Highland; it quickly grew to 3,832 acres by Friday night and nearly doubled in size to 7,122 acres with no containment by Saturday afternoon.

As of Sunday afternoon, it stood at 17,459 acres, making it the fifth-largest active wildfire in the state.

On Sunday night, CAL FIRE San Bernardino provided an updated size of 20,553 acres; officials said just before 6 a.m. Monday that the fire was 3% contained.

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In a post to X, Newsom stated that he is deploying resources from across the state to assist local fire crews.  CAL FIRE is also working with the U.S. Forest Service to protect area communities.

Fire officials described the Line Fire as “very active and spreading in receptive fuels,” adding that extreme weather — including lightning strikes, strong winds and hot weather — as well as hard-to-navigate terrain are making it hard for crews to contain the blaze; however, a CAL FIRE spokesperson told KTLA 5’s Erin Myers Sunday morning that crews did make progress overnight due to higher humidity, a little bit of rain and the deployment of more resources.

“Vegetation is critically dry, and temperatures reached more than 100 degrees Saturday with relative humidity dipping to the mid-teens,” CAL FIRE stated on their Line Fire incident webpage. “There’s a chance for thunderstorms in the area Sunday [but] there is an Excessive Heat Warning across the region that is expected to last through the weekend.”

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A total of 36,328 structures are threatened, including residential homes, commercial buildings and “other minor structures,” fire officials said. Three firefighters have been injured fighting the blaze.

“Thunderstorm outflow winds are causing very erratic behavior on the Line Fire,” officials said just before 8 a.m. Sunday. “The fire [started] out under smoky skies on Sunday which will help moderate fire behavior, but as smoke clears through the afternoon, fire activity will once again pick up.”

The hot and dry conditions mixed with thunderstorms could cause new ignitions and influence activity around the fire perimeter, CAL FIRE said.

Evacuation orders are in place for the following areas:

• North of Highland Avenue and East of Palm Avenue to Highway 330

• Garnett Street east of Highway 38 and Mille Creek north to the foothills

• Mountain Home Village

• Forest Falls

• The communities of Running Springs and Arrow Bear Lake

• All underdeveloped land east of Highway 330 to Summertrail Place and north of Highland Avenue

• From Calle Del Rio to Highway 38 including Greenspot Road North

• Areas of Running Springs east of Highway 330 and south of Highway 18

• Area east of Orchard Road to CloverHill from Highland Avenue north to the foothills

Evacuation warnings are in place for the following areas:

• Cedar Glen, Lake Arrowhead, Crestline, Valley of Enchantment

The following roads have been closed:

• Highway 18 northbound from Kuffel Canyon to Running Springs (one lane; only southbound traffic is allowed)

• Highway 18 from Running Springs to Highway 38 (Big Bear Dam)

• Highway 330 from Highland Avenue to Highway 18 in Running Springs

• Garnet Street at Highway 38 in Mentone

“If you are in Running Springs, you are able to get out but you will not be allowed back in,” CAL FIRE said.

Evacuation shelters have been set up at the following locations:

An animal evacuation shelter is available at Devore Animal Shelter, located at 19777 Shelter Way in San Bernardino.

More information on the wildfire can be found at CAL FIRE’s Line Fire incident webpage.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

On Sunday evening, Bear Valley Unified School District announced all schools within the district will be closed on Monday because of the impacts of this fire.

The district shared in a Facebook post that, while the community is not currently in any direct danger, the ongoing fire has led to road closures and poor air quality.

“San Bernardino County has been declared a state of emergency and we make this decision purely out of an abundance of caution,” wrote the district. “Our top priority is the safety and well-being of our students, staff, and community. We are closely monitoring the situation and will provide updates as necessary.”

Redlands Unified School District has also cancelled classes for students and staff Monday.

Officials with the San Bernardino County Unified School District announced that all of its schools, with the exception of Bonnie Oehl Elementary, which is within the evacuation zone, will be opened for class Monday. More information on SBCUSD’s schedule can be found here.

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