Lake Fire
INCIDENT UPDATED 13 MIN. AGO
Incident Overview
The Lake Fire was reported just before 4:00 pm on June 17, 2015. It is burning in the Barton Flats area and in the northern portion of the San Gorgonio Wilderness. Highway 38 is closed between Angelus Oaks to Lake Williams. Evacuations include: Areas east of Angelus Oaks, Onyx Summit, Barton Flats, Seven Oaks, Heart Bar and homes off of Rainbow Lane. All Hiking Trails into the San Gorgonio Wilderness Area have been closed due to the proximity of the fire to these trails. The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is closed from Whitewater Preserve to Onyx Summit.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. It is approximately 17,050 acres in size and burning in timber. It is currently 19% contained. There are approximately 500 structures threatened, however no structures are believed to be damaged or destroyed at this time.
The Morongo Valley and Pioneertown Areas have receive smoke from this fire. THERE ARE NO EVACUATION ORDERS FOR THESE AREAS AT THIS TIME. Heavy smoke remains in the area and the Southern California Air Quality Management District has issued a Smoke Advisory for those areas. Click on the link for additional information:
http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/article/4302/25151/ Fire within the wilderness is low intensity allowing the firefighters to gain safe ground to effectively attack the fire. Overall the growth of the fire has slowed. Additional efforts include hose lays and retardant and water drops from aircraft. Hot Shot Crews have been working the extreme terrain of the northern portion San Gorgonio Wilderness constructing fire line.
Highway 38 is the northern perimeter of the fire. Most of the fire-line has been built along the highway and crews are making good progress in the Heart Bar area. Cabins and organizational camps in the Barton Flats area remain intact.
High Temperatures and westerly winds will continue to push smoke towards the east, impacting residents in the surrounding areas.
Resources on scene include:
121 engines
5 air tankers
16 helicopters (including night-flying)
2 air attack plane
50 crews
16 water tenders
7 dozers
Fire management is under Unified Command with, Cal Fire, San Bernardino County Fire and San Bernardino County Sheriff. The Incident Command Post is located at Big Bear High school.
Ben's Weather Webcam has updated images of the fire every 30 seconds
Basic Information
Current as of
?6?/?21?/?2015? ?6?:?24?:?27? ?PM
Incident Type
Wildfire
Cause
Under Investigation
Date of Origin
Wednesday June 17th, 2015 approx. 03:52 PM
Incident Commander
Walker
Incident Description
Moderate Rate Of Spread With Active Torching And Crown Fire Runs.
Current Situation
Total Personnel
1,986
Size
17,050 Acres
Percent of Perimeter Contained
19%
Fuels Involved
Timber with Grass and Understory.
Significant Events
Highway 38 is closed from the east side of Angelus Oaks to Lake Williams, Hiking Trails into the San Gorgonio Wilderness Area closed. Pacific Crest Trail closed from Whitewater Preserve to Onyx Peak.
Outlook
Planned Actions
Continue to hold the fire south of Hwy 38 and North of 10,000'ridge.
Remarks
A Type 2 Incident Management Team has assumed command of the fire
Current Weather
Weather Concerns
Weather will remain warm and dry over the fire with gusty west winds over the next few days. Temperatures will slowly cool over next several days with an increase in relative humidity.
