Shit. Fire in the San Bernardino National Forest. Windy night forecast, more wind tomorrow.

[cherokeeprogressive]

The view from my front porch... Wish us luck! Winds forecast tomorrow 14mph sustained with 20mph gusts. Five miles as the crow flies. In the Jenks Lake area of the National Forest for Google Earth users.

[shraby]

1. Stay safe, don't wait until the last minute to evacuate.

[cherokeeprogressive]

5. Thanks! We learned shortly after moving up here to be ready to go at a moment's notice.

We could get out with the papers (the MOST important ones anyway) in their own small safe, and the animals in probably 10-15 minutes. When the reverse 911 call comes, we're outta here.

And, while most will be sitting in bumper to bumper traffic, I'll be taking forest service roads down to Lucerne Valley.

I was just bragging to nadin about how good our Hot Shots are. Now's the time when we need them most.

[jwirr]

15. Don't forget the family pictures that one can never replace.

[nadinbrzezinski]

18. My local hotshots are getting to play

in very rugged terrain. Season has started.

[Blue_In_AK]

2. Please be safe.

I hope Alaska isn't using all your Hotshot crews. There are several up here from the L48 battling the 53 fires here.

[cherokeeprogressive]

6. I just saw our Hot Shots yesterday. Those guys are Bad ASS.

Fire was reported at about 1600 local so I'm sure they're in the thick of it. They're putting the air resources to bed for the night in about 30 minutes.

It's tomorrow I'm worried about... 30 mph gusts.

[morningfog]

3. Yikes. That's close. Be safe. I hope for the best.

[bullwinkle428]

4. Stay on top of it - please move when you need to!

[cherokeeprogressive]

7. 5 minutes ago from the top of the Snow Summit Ski Resort...

This was a live webcam photo.

[Blue_In_AK]

9. Are there homes or cabins in this area?

That looks bad. Don't take any chances and get the hell out of there if it comes close. These fires are very unpredictable (as I'm sure you know), especially with the wind.

[cherokeeprogressive]

11. Campgrounds. It's a few miles east of where Murderin' Christopher Dorner made his stand.

Lots of dry timber though and if the winds were to shift north it could be in Bear Valley tomorrow night. Not a whole lot of structure worries to the east.

[Blue_In_AK]

12. Good luck, and please be careful.

[cherokeeprogressive]

13. Got all the important things situated so's we could be rollin' in 10-15 min of the <911 call.

As I'm sure you do too. It's just what we do in the mtns.

The cool thing is my Wife is able to make it look like we're not prepared to bail out like we have ejection seats LOL.

[yuiyoshida]

24. wow!!!

that looks totally nasty!!! Stay safe there Cherokeeprogressive!

[NV Whino]

8. We've had two small fires in my neck of the woods this last week.

One still burning, but the road is open, and it should be contained soon.

Scary year for a lot of us. Alaska is serious stuff.

[Blue_In_AK]

10. Yes, pretty serious here.

They were saying on the news tonight that if the weather doesn't change - which there's no indication that it will - the fire on the Kenai Peninsula will probably double in size each day. It's already 3,000 acres, burning back up into the Kenai wildlife refuge now. It's burning what didn't burn up last year in the Funny River fire, which ended up being over 150,000 acres before it was done.


http://www.adn.com/article/20150617/firefighters-stretched-thin-additional-fires-kenai-peninsula

The west is just entirely too dry, and we're way too hot, too. It was 80 again today, which tied the record from 2013.

[cherokeeprogressive]

14. For us in So. Cal., NOAA keeps upping our chances of a very strong El Nino lasting into next spring.

What a blessing that would be!

[zappaman]

16. Fingers crossed for El Niño

And stay safe!

[questionseverything]

26. i wish we could send ya some rain

here in illinois we are having a really wet year

[nadinbrzezinski]

17. We got one in one of the local reservations

it is quite frankly nothing, but that explains why we were missing some air assets. The local one is nothing compared to that. Where it started, well we have had a few major fires in the last 15 years there.

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. Lake Fire Burns 7,500 Acres in San Bernardino Mountains; Structures Threatened, Evacuations Ordered

An out-of-control wildfire burning in the San Bernardino Mountains about 6 miles south of Big Bear Lake grew to nearly 12 square miles and prompted mandatory evacuations on Thursday, authorities said.

lake-fire-2
A growing wildfire was burning in the San Bernardino National Forest, sending thick plumes of smoke into the air on June 18, 2015. (Credit: KTLA)
The so-called “Lake Fire” was reported Wednesday around 4 p.m. and is burning east of Camp De Benneville Pines south of Jenks Lane Road (map), according to the InciWeb, a multi-agency website that provides updated information on large fires on federal land.

As of just before noon, the blaze had grown to 7,500 acres and remained just 5 percent contained, according to a tweet from the San

http://ktla.com/2015/06/18/lake-fire-scorches-100-acres-in-san-bernardino-mountains-structures-threatened-evacuations-ordered/

5 Percent contained as of the last story when I came in to check. Careful there.

[cherokeeprogressive]

20. Cal Fire Air Attack says possibility of 50,000 acres and movement to Morongo Valley by a.m. tomorrow

[nadinbrzezinski]

21. And it is JUNE.

came home to put the music on (scanners)... since we had another start locally... instead listening to a rescue at the usual place due to over heating.

[nadinbrzezinski]

22. And will give the "secrets" away

http://hotlist.wildlandfire.com/threads/46488-CA-BDF-Lake

They listen to scanners, so you don't have to...

[nadinbrzezinski]

25. and here is inciweb

http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4302/

Incident Overview

This photo shows the glow from flames from the Lake Fire at 8:50 pm on June 17th.
Image options: [ Enlarge ] [ Full Size ]
The Lake Fire was reported just before 4:00 pm on June 17, 2015. It is burning east of Camp de Benneville Pines south of Jenks Lake Road. Highway 38 is closed between Angelus Oaks to Lake Williams. Jenks Lake Road is closed as well.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. It is approximately 7,500 acres in size and burning in timber. It is currently 5% contained. Structures are threatened.

Evacuations include: Areas east of Angelus Oaks, Onyx Summit, Barton Flats, Seven Oaks, and homes off of Rainbow Lane.

120 people from Camp de Benneville Pines, 1 person from Camp Ta Ta Pochon, 24 people from Camp Alpine Meadows, 23 people from Camp Edwards, and 10 people from Camp Tulakes. Children from the camps were bused to Citrus Valley High School in Redlands to be reunited with their parents.
All Hiking Trails into the San Gorgonio Wilderness Area have been closed due to the proximity of the fire to many hiking trails. The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is closed from Whitewater Preserve to Onyx Summit.

Resources on scene include:
32 engines
5 air tankers
7 helicopters (including night-flying)
1 air attack plane
13 crews
8 water tenders
3 dozer

Additional resources have been ordered.

Fire management is under Unified Command with San Bernardino County Fire and San Bernardino County Sheriff. The Incident Command Post is at Barton Flats Visitor Center.

Ben's Weather Webcam has updated images of the fire every 30 seconds

Basic Information
Current as of 6/18/2015, 12:08:06 PM
Incident Type Wildfire
Cause Under Investigation
Date of Origin Wednesday June 17th, 2015 approx. 03:52 PM
Incident Commander Unified Command
Incident Description Moderate To Rapid Rate Of Spread
Current Situation
Total Personnel 500
Size 7,500 Acres
Percent of Perimeter Contained 5%
Fuels Involved
Timber with Grass and Understory.
Significant Events
Highway 38 is closed from the east side of Angelus Oaks to Lake Williams, Hiking Trails into the San Gorgonio Wilderness Area closed. Pacific Crest Trail closed from Whitewater Preserve to Onyx Peak.
Outlook
Planned Actions
A Type 2 Incident Management Team will be assuming command of the Lake Fire later today.
Current Weather
Weather Concerns
Weather will remain warm and dry

[WilliamPitt]

23. Stay safe.

...and run if you have to. Stuff is stuff; you are precious.