Heavy Wind Gusts Fan Mount Baldy blaze

MOUNT BALDY - A brush fire ignited Tuesday morning northwest of Mount Baldy Village, growing to 300 acres by the afternoon and forcing residents to evacuate from six rural cabins.

The Big Horn Fire ignited about 4:30 a.m. and remained isolated in an area called Bear Canyon, about a mile north of Mount Baldy Village.

Fire officials were unsure Tuesday what caused the fire, saying the origin remained under investigation.

The blaze grew throughout the afternoon, fueled by wind gusts of up to 50 mph. Despite its growth, the fire did not directly threaten homes or force evacuations in the heart of the small mountain community.

More than 200 firefighters from agencies in San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties fought the fire during the day, and many planned to remain in the area overnight, said Dee Dechert, public information officer for the U.S. Forest Service.

The fire was located largely in an area of steep terrain in Bear Canyon that limited the ability of ground crews to fight the fire directly.

The fire area consisted of mainly “rough terrain, a lot of loose rock - very, very steep,” said U.S. Forest Service spokesman Stanton Florea.

Five water-dropping helicopters remained active during the day, drawing water from the base of the canyon at San Antonio Dam.

At the end of the day Tuesday the fire was zero-percent contained, though it did not pose an imminent threat to any structures, fire officials said. Read More at the San Gabriel Valley Tribune

West Coast Fire News story written by By Lori Consalvo and Will Bigham, Staff Writers