Fast-Moving Southern California Wildfire Torched Hillside Homes, Forcing Evacuations

August 7, 2024

A fast-moving wildfire that swept into a Southern California hillside community this week destroyed five homes and damaged three others, authorities said.

The flames erupted Monday afternoon and chased residents from the neighborhood in San Bernardino, about 60 miles east of Los Angeles,

One firefighter was treated for a minor injury but there were no reports of injuries to residents, said Eric Sherwin, spokesperson for the San Bernardino County Fire Department.

“How quickly this fire hit this community,” Sherwin said, “the fact that we have no civilians injured is truly a miracle.”

The fire was reported at 2:40 p.m. Monday and stopped progressing about three hours later after scorching 54 acres. Containment was holding at 75%, Sherwin said. All evacuations were lifted late Tuesday morning.

Investigators were working to determine the cause of the fire, which erupted amid very dry and hot conditions that have made swaths of California quick to burn this summer.

Topics California Catastrophe Natural Disasters Wildfire

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