Southern California wildfires are being contained, but there is still lots of work to be done 

The three wildfires that have burned hundreds of thousands of acres this month in Southern California are starting to get under control, but the firefight is far from over. 

As of Sunday morning, the Airport, Bridge and Line fires all remained under 40% containment. 

Line Fire

The most contained of the three is the Line Fire, which started on Sept. 5 near Base Line Road in Highland.  

In an update issued at 6:42 a.m. Sunday, Cal Fire stated that the fire was active as Saturday turned to Sunday due to a dry airmass at higher elevations. 

“The fire smoldered and crept on the ground in the lower elevations under the marine layer,” Cal Fire said in their most recent situation summary.  “Cool conditions prevail across the fire area, and late Sunday and into Monday, light rain is possible. Firefighters are strengthening control lines and mopping up hot spots.” 

The Line Fire stands at 38,421 acres with 36% containment as of Sunday morning.  Preliminary damage assessments indicate that only three structures have been damaged with one destroyed; three civilian and firefighter injuries have been reported due to the Line Fire, officials confirmed. 

Evacuation orders remain in place for some areas.  More information can be found on Cal Fire’s Line Fire incident page. 

Airport Fire

The second most contained of the three fires is the Airport Fire in Orange and Riverside counties, which has been burning since Sept 9.   

On Saturday evening, the Orange County Fire Authority stated that the fire remained at 23,519 acres with 19% containment.

Despite the progress, crews still observed “active fire behavior” near Modjeska Peak and Sugar Loaf throughout the day. 

“Substantial progress was made toward Bell Canyon through the combined efforts of heavy equipment, hand tools and aerial support,” OCFA said in a post to Facebook.  “Ongoing efforts are focused on preventing further property loss and establishing a containment line to confine the fire within its current boundaries.” 

According to OCFA, “favorable” weather conditions persisted Saturday and light precipitation in the forecast should aid in the firefight. They did note, however, that despite the break in the heat, the dry vegetation still exhibited active fire behavior, which indicates the continued risk of increased fire activity. 

As of the latest assessment, 24 structures had been damaged by the Airport Fire, with a further 109 destroyed.  

A total of 14 injuries to civilians and firefighters have been reported. 

More information on the Airport Fire, including maps of areas still under evacuation orders, can be found here. 

Bridge Fire

The Bridge Fire, burning in both Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, is the least contained of the three active SoCal wildfires as of Sunday morning. 

Burning since Sept. 8, the Bridge Fire initially remained small before exploding late last week, eventually spanning over 51,000 acres at its peak on Thursday. 

Cooler weather over the weekend aided fire crews, but in their latest status update, Cal Fire said that several parts of the blaze remain active. 

“The northwest corner of the fire was most active [Saturday] … although interior ‘islands’ of unburned vegetation remain in the northern part of the fire, firefighters also plan to go direct and continue holding and securing their containment lines to protect the communities of Wrightwood, Pinon Hills and beyond,” officials stated.  “To the northeast, the fire has reaches drainages on the west side of the north fork of Lytle Creek; however, firefighters are prioritizing dozer lines and direct attack wherever possible to stop the fire’s spread.” 

“The east side of the fire is less active, [but it] still presents risks to residents in the Mount Baldy area so evacuation orders remain in effect,” Cal Fire added. “On the south side, firefighters are still holding their containment line at Sunset Peak while they continue contingency line construction below it…this area of the fire is where they were able to increase containment percentage by two percent.” 

Six structures have been damaged and 19 have been destroyed as of the latest damage assessment, although Cal Fire noted that upwards of 11,500 structures remain threatened by the fire. 

Only two injuries have been reported as a result of the Bridge Fire. Click here for the latest updates from Cal Fire, including a map detailing evacuation order zones.

As for the causes of the three fires, the Line Fire was allegedly set intentionally by a 34-year-old man from Norco and the Airport Fire started due to a spark from heavy equipment being operated by Orange County Public Works employees, although some have accused the workers of negligence or even “accidental arson.”

The cause of the Bridge Fire remains under investigation.

According to Cal Fire, there have been 6,126 wildfires in California this year which have scorched over 992,000 acres, destroyed 1,229 structures and led to one civilian death.