Crews begin to contain 1,250 acre Bogart fire in Cherry Valley area

The fire burning in the Cherry Valley area was slightly bigger and further contained Wednesday morning, but firefighters remain concerned that winds and dry fuel could cause the blaze to explode.

• PHOTOS: The Bogart fire burns brush in Cherry Valley

“With any hot spots, that wind change is always a concern,” said Cal Fire Capt. Liz Brown adding that 20-mph wind gusts are expected throughout the day.

Most of the vegetation burning is a combination of chaparral and short grasses, and it’s those tinder-dry grasses that are worrisome for fire officials.

The Bogart fire, named for the park it started in, covered 1,250 acres and was about 20 percent contained by sunrise, officials said.

Evacuations southeast and northwest of Bogart Park took effect shortly after the fire ignited at 12:25 p.m. Tuesday. They were lifted about 9 p.m.

“That’s one thing we are very thankful for -- the cooperation of residents to evacuate,” said Brown, alluding to some of the difficulties firefighters faced during the Blue Cut fire, where only half of the residents under mandatory evacuation orders heeded those advisements.

No homes were threatened as of Wednesday morning, as the fire was burning mostly in nearby vegetation. However, that was not the case Tuesday.

The fire moved so quickly that authorities had to call in all available air support immediately because the blaze was lapping up against homes, leading to a no-divert order.

The order, explained Brown, would not allow any air support crafts to be pulled from the incident if another fire broke out in Southern California because authorities hadn’t had the opportunity to evacuate anyone from their threatened homes.

“Our priority is to protect life and property,” she said.

Four of the more than 400 firefighters working to combat the flames suffered minor injuries Tuesday, said Cal Fire Operations Chief Silvio Lanzas.

“Yesterday was a good firefight,” he said during a morning briefing. “The guys and gals did a bang-up job.”

The firefighters are being assisted by five helicopters and nine air tankers.

Firefighters plaed to work Wednesday to keep the flames between Brookside Avenue and International Truck Trail and between Avenida Miravella and Bluff Street.

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Some of their effort will be concentrated on a handful of hot spots.

The fire was moving northwest on Tuesday, but it hadn’t reached the Baing Water Canyon east of Baing Bench. The canyon houses a water flume that supplies water to the city of Baing and the Baing Bench.

The fire is the Inland Empire’s third largest this month, after the Blue Cut and Pilot fires blackened more than 45,000 acres combined in the San Bernardino Mountains.

Fire officials say the Bogart fire is acting similarly to the Blue Cut fire, which was unique in its rapid growth early on and its erratic behavior.

Cal Fire investigators say there was evidence found near the fire’s starting point that points to the blaze as being human-caused, and they believe kids in the area Tuesday afternoon could be the culprits. Anyone with information about juvenile activity along the north end of Winesap Avenue near the park’s entrance is asked to call the arson hotline at 800-633-2836.