Pilot fire burns 4,500 acres in San Bernardino Mountains; 5% contained

SAN BERNARDINO MOUNTAINS >> Some 4,700 people have been told to evacuate as the Pilot fire flared Monday afternoon in the San Bernardino Mountains.

The fire, which started Sunday between Silverwood Lake and Lake Arrowhead, is burning in two directions, said Capt. Liz Brown, a Cal Fire spokeswoman: north toward Hesperia, and northeast toward a mountain area known as the Piacles.

• Live Coverage: What we know about the Pilot fire so far

It had burned 4,500 acres by Monday morning and was 5 percent contained; no new numbers have been released since then, but the fire has clearly grown significantly. The Forest Service has reported no burned structures or injuries.

Authorities have ordered or advised residents to evacuate from the following areas:

• Highway 173 between Highway 138 and Arrowhead Lake Road (mandatory)

• Arrowhead Lake Road between Highway 173 and Ranchero Road (mandatory; an extension an earlier order that ended at Hesperia Lake)

• Deer Lodge Park area (mandatory)

• Summit Valley east of the aqueduct (voluntary)

• Golf Course Road east to North Bay Road, including everything north of Peninsula to Highway 173 (voluntary)

• North Lake Arrowhead: Brentwood Drive east to Highway 173 -- and everything north of the lake (voluntary)

• Aleutian, Klondike, Evergreen and Yukon drives (voluntary)

• The area north of the Deep Creek Spillway, south of Rock Springs Road, east of the Mojave River and west of Kiowa Road (voluntary)

Lake Arrowhead is not in danger now, Brown said. But fire officials were concerned that if it does become threatened, traffic getting down from the mountain would be a problem, which is why they ordered the voluntary evacuation earlier than the might have.

• Video: Pilot fire smolders in a burn area in Summit Valley right off Highway 173

Rim of the World High School at 27400 Highway 18 in Twin Peaks has been turned into an evacuation center, in addition to Oak Hills High School at 7625 Cataba Road just outside Hesperia. Animals – small and large – can be taken to the San Bernardino County Fairgrounds at 14800 Seventh St. in Victorville. Cat and dog owners need to provide their own crates.

AFTERNOON FLAREUP

About 2 p.m., flames could be seen making their way down the hillside toward homes in Summit Valley, kicking up billowing new clouds of black smoke. Bulldozers were busy cutting fire lines behind homes, while air tankers and helicopters continued dropping retardant and water to try to halt the flames.

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• Photos: Fight against Pilot fire continues on Day 2 as acreage grows to 4,500

A spot fire jumped Highway 173 near where it curves from the east to the north about 2:30, but fire officials said engine crews quickly snuffed the flames. A short distance away, flames jumped the highway again just before 4 p.m. and were nearing the Country Store on the 173.

Highway 173 runs east from Highway 138 past Silverwood Lake, then north toward the Deep Creek area. North and west of the road, the mountains drop off into the High Desert. The fire started south of the road.

Throughout the day, winds pushed the fire, and smoke, north from the mountains into the High Desert. Firefighters were lighting backfires Monday to keep the flames from spreading down into populated areas of Hesperia.

The air in the High Desert was so thick with smoke that the mountains were obscured, and ash has been raining down since Sunday. Air-quality officials advise that where the air is smoky, people should stay indoors.

• Map: Where the Pilot fire is burning and causing evacuations

Because of the poor air quality, Apple Valley Unified School District schools and offices will be closed Tuesday, Aug. 9. They, along with Hesperia Unified, were open Monday.

‘A WALL OF FLAMES’

Firefighters worked throughout the night to keep the Pilot fire away from homes, said San Bernardino County Fire Department spokesman Eric Sherwin. The flames got within 100 feet of one home off Highway 173.

Richard Andrews, 75, lives at the end of Highway 173 near the Pacific Crest Trail.

“There was a wall of flames 15 feet high that came through here,” Andrews said Monday as he pointed to a scorched hillside across the road from his property.

Andrews and his dachshund, Digby, were up until 2 a.m., keeping watch over his property and the adjacent Etiwanda Game Association bird-hunting area.

• Video: A bulldozer moves after cutting fire breaks all night in Pilot fire fight

“We were out there putting out fires with shovels,” said Andrews as he sat astride his ATV, with Digby sitting on top like a four-legged sentinel. “Just me and Digby.”

Andrews and Digby weren’t the only Summit Valley residents to stay put.

Ryan Nuckols, 32, was closely watching the helicopters and aircrafts as they circled the newly forming smoke clouds rising just south of his 6-acre property.

“My wife and two kids are with my mother-in-law in Riverside,” Nuckols said. “But I had to stay behind just to make sure everything was alright.”

Air tankers dropped fire retardant on Nuckols’ 6-acre property, turning cars and buildings bright pink.

Nuckols himself was caught in one of the drops and still had some spots of hot pink on his ear.

“This is the closest I’ve seen it get in a long time,” he said.

The fire appears to have knocked out power to more than two dozen homes and businesses in Summit Valley, according to a Southern California Edison outage map. Electricity is expected to be restored to the area by noon Tuesday, the SCE website says.

“The last time this happened, we were without power for five days,” said Nuckols.

RAPID SPREAD

The Pilot fire ignited just after noon Sunday east of Highway 138 and Silverwood Lake, and south of Hesperia. It started near the Miller Canyon Off-Highway Vehicle area and began burning through brush and timber. Its cause has not been determined.

• Photos: 400 firefighters battle Pilot fire on Day 1 in San Bernardino Mountains

The fire spread to 1,000 acres within hours, and was estimated at 1,500 acres by night’s end. The dramatic jump Monday morning to 4,500 acres – about 7 square miles – is probably not because the fire tripled in size but because Sunday’s estimates were off, fire officials said.

More than 560 firefighting persoel from agencies across Southern California are working on the fire.

People with questions about the fire may call the San Bernardino Fire Information Center at 909-383-5688.

EVACUATIONS, CLOSURES

The mandatory evacuation orders for properties along Highway 173 and Arrowhead Lake Road area cover an area with about 25 homes, while the Deep Creek voluntary evacuation covered another 150 homes.

Highway 173 is closed between Highway 138 and Arrowhead Lake Road, and forest roads 2N33, 2N17X, 2N36 and 2N37 are closed as well. Highway 138, which was closed Sunday, is now open.

• Video: Hand crews hit Pilot fire hotspots

Also closed are the Miller Canyon Off-Highway Vehicle area, Hesperia Lake and the Pacific Crest Trail from Deep Creek Hot Springs to Silverwood Lake.

As of Monday morning, no evacuees were staying at the Oak Hills High School evacuation center.

Geoff Hinds, CEO of the San Bernardino County Fairgrounds in Victorville, said Monday morning that people affected by the fire have brought 16 equine-type animals such as horses and donkeys, 18 goats and about 20 miscellaneous feathered animals to be housed there.

Staff writers Ae Millerbernd, Doug Saunders, Brian Rokos and Richard Brooks contributed to this report.

This is a developing story that will continue to be updated throughout the day. Check back later for more updates.