California Firefighters Fight East Los Angeles Fire

Thousands of firefighters from California fighting this Sunday a fire that threatens numerous people near the city of San Bernardino, located a hundred kilometers east of The Angels.

The so-called “Apple Fire”, which was declared on Friday afternoon, has already plagued more than 8,300 hectares in the Cherry Valley and the San Bernardino National Forest in southern California.

Smoke from the fire was visible for several kilometers, prompting an air quality alert to be issued Saturday night.
At least 2,600 homes and almost 7,800 people have had to be evacuated.

At 18:00 GMT, more than 1,300 firefighters, assisted by helicopters and trucks, were deployed in the area.

In the early afternoon, the fire was not contained and continued to advance. However, no casualties have been reported and losses are limited to two buildings and one house.

The fire is expected to remain highly active this Sunday, due to high temperatures and drought.

An investigation is ongoing to determine the origin of the fire, which could be criminal.

Almost 8 thousand evacuated by fire

Some 7,800 people have been evicted this Sunday from their homes in Cherry Valley, a residential area east of Los Angeles, due to a forest fire that has affected some 6,000 hectares, authorities reported.

According to the Riverside County Fire Department, where Cherry Valley is located, the so-called “Apple Fire” started early Friday morning and has so far only been contained in 12% of its extent.

The fire is spreading rapidly fueled by the dry scrub vegetation of the area and high temperatures, and in the tasks of fire control and extinguishing more than 1,300 firefighters and volunteers have participated since this morning.

Residents of the Oak Glen and Potato Canyon areas in neighboring San Bernardino County have also been asked to vacate their homes as a precaution.

So far no injuries or victims have been reported, although the fire has consumed at least one single-family house and two units, according to the fire department.

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The evacuated neighbors are being temporarily housed in local hotels and in the facilities of a local secondary school, maintaining the necessary protocols by the Covid-19, with temperature control on arrival, safety distances and the use of masks.

The National Weather Service has released images taken by its satellites showing that the smoke generated by the fire reaches as far as Phoenix, Arizona, nearly 500 kilometers away.

At the moment the causes of the fire are unknown, which occurs at a very dry time of year and with high temperatures throughout the area.

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