Falling temperatures and rising humidity will give firefighters a brief window to gain more ground against three major Southern California wildfires, officials said Sunday.

“It’s helping out tremendously,” said Capt. Steve Concialdi, acting as public information officer on the Airport fire in Orange and Riverside counties, where overnight humidity levels topped 90% in some areas Saturday.

“It is helping us increase our containment lines and firefighters are able to work longer in these cooler temperatures,” Concialdi said. “We’re not getting heat-related illnesses.”

But there is a mixed blessing in the weather shift.

“We are expecting some fairly strong winds through [Monday] night and also at higher elevations, which could present some issues,” said Bryan Lewis, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

Even as a moist blanket of air in the marine layer thickens, rising to 4,500 feet by Sunday, conditions above that remain parched. Upper peaks could see wind gusts of up to 45 mph, Lewis said, spelling fresher air for valley residents but posing a challenge to fire crews. Lewis said the marine layer, with its cool, moist air, could deepen to 6,000 feet by Monday.

In San Bernardino County, the Line fire moved at a crawl over the weekend, but the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said humidity and the chance of light rain late Sunday should give firefighters a chance to douse hot spots and solidify control lines that surround a third of the 36,000-acre fire. The fire was 36% contained as of Sunday afternoon.

The nearby Bridge fire sprawling nearly 55,000 acres in the San Gabriel Mountains of San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties continued to press north and west, but the agency said firefighters are holding lines to the south and east, though the Mount Baldy area remains under evacuation orders. The fire is only 9% contained.

In the Santa Ana Mountains, the Airport fire made no new advances Saturday night, holding under 24,000 acres and giving ground crews a chance to reach hard-to-access areas around Trabuco Canyon and establish fire lines. To date, 115 residences and three businesses have been destroyed, with injuries reported to 12 firefighters and two civilians. The fire is 19% contained.

Fire plans called for crews of hot shot firefighters to be flown in and dropped off in these remote areas, to establish camps from which they will work for several days dousing anything smoldering. “If the wind shifts or the Santa Ana [wind] kicks up, we want to make sure all of those hot spots are extinguished,” Concialdi said.

With other ground gains, Riverside County on Saturday downgraded evacuation orders in some areas to warning status.

Dry conditions still dominate at upper elevations. State officials said the Line fire near Big Bear Lake continued to be active on higher ground. In the Airport fire, Modjeska Peak remained dry, and state officials warned smoldering vegetation above 4,000 feet still had the potential to flare and roll downhill to ignite unburned vegetation.

The high pressure system that locked Southern California in a heat dome last week has been displaced by the passage of a weak and dying cold front. Local weather forecasts called for temperatures slightly below normal, thick night fog and high humidity, and chances for light rain leading into Monday. Light rain returns to the forecast for Wednesday before National Weather Service forecasts call for temperatures to rise again to slightly above normal.

Air quality advisories remained in effect for all four counties, with smoke choking the air with fine-particulate matter. The South Coast Air Quality Management District advised residents to limit outdoor activity.

A firefighting helicopter battles the Airport fire, dropping water near Santiago Peak on Tuesday. The Airport fire has charred more than 9,000 acres.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

Advertisement

More than 80 homes were completely destroyed in the massive Airport Fire, which tore through Orange and Riverside counties and left several people injured as entire communities were forced to flee, authorities said Saturday.

Since it broke out Monday afternoon, the wildfire has scorched more than 23,000 acres and remained just 19% contained as of Saturday, according to Cal Fire, or the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. In the last few days, fire officials lifted some mandatory evacuation orders while many of those affected remain under evacuation warnings, meaning they can return home but should be ready to leave at a moment’s notice.

Fourteen people, including a dozen firefighters, have been injured.

An estimated 109 structures have been lost so far — 82 of which are homes —  in addition to 24 structures that are damaged including six homes, according to fire officials. Nearly 22,000 structures are still being threatened, Cal Fire said Saturday.

As the blaze raced through Lake Elsinore earlier this week, huge flames engulfed houses along El Cariso Road and left them scorched to the ground. The community is just five miles outside the lake in Riverside County.

Dean James, who lives in the El Cariso neighborhood, was packing up to leave when his car wouldn’t start. His roommate panicked and ran off as she feared for her life and was surrounded by flames when a firefighter later rescued her. By the time the wildfire was done tearing through their neighborhood, their home had been burned down to little more than some piles of debris.

“I don’t have nowhere to go,” James said. “I got less than $100 in my pocket.”

James’ roommate was later treated for burn injuries in the intensive care unit at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center. 

Just hours after it sparked, the wildfire exploded over Monday night in Orange County’s Trabuco Canyon and spread into Riverside County the following day. People in both counties were forced to flee their homes, facing mandatory evacuation orders as firefighters raced to stop the growing blaze. More recently, firefighters have made progress and some evacuations have been lifted.

How to get help after a wildfire in Southern California — from shelters to tax relief and insurance

Nearly a week since it started, more favorable weather, including cooler and less dry conditions, has helped firefighters in recent days as containment rose from 8% on Friday to 19% on Saturday.

As crews continue to assess the damage, the number of homes and other buildings lost in the wildfire could change as those assessments are ongoing. “Damage assessment teams diligently evaluated the extent of structural damage, and those efforts will continue as they gain access,” reads the Cal Fire statement issued Saturday.

Meanwhile, firefighters are working to prevent further losses by firmly establishing a containment line around the blaze.  

Cal Fire officials said the status of mandatory or voluntary evacuations could change, depending on the level of containment and other considerations. 

Still, they are working to get people back home.

“Efforts are underway to safely return residents to their homes as conditions permit,” Cal Fire officials said.

The mother of the 34-year-old man accused of starting the Line fire in southern California – which has scorched at least 38,000 acres (15,378 hectares) and destroyed one home – has spoken out in defense of her son, telling the Los Angeles Times on Thursday that “he did not light that fire”.

Arson-related charges have been filed against Justin Wayne Halstenberg, who is accused of starting the San Bernardino county blaze on 5 September. He is due to be arraigned on Monday according to the San Bernardino county district attorney’s office.

Halstenberg’s mother, Connie Halstenberg, told the Los Angeles Times that there are things that her son does that she does not approve of but that “he is not an arsonist”.

Prosecutors in the San Bernardino county district attorney’s office allege that Halstenberg tried to start a fire in at least two other locations before succeeding. The first, on Bacon Lane in Highland, California, was reported and extinguished by firefighters. “The second was stomped out by a good Samaritan,” the district attorney’s office said.

“Undeterred, he ignited a third fire which is what we now know as the Line fire,” prosecutors said in the statement.

Prosecutors said additional charges may be filed for any further structure damage or injuries as the fire continues.

The full extent of the damage caused by the blaze remains unclear, but Jason Anderson, the San Bernardino county district attorney, said at least one home has been destroyed.

The wildfire was 25% contained as of Saturday. Cool weather over the next several days should help, fire officials said.

The Line fire is burning through dense vegetation that grew after two back-to-back wet winters when snowstorms broke tree branches, leaving behind a lot of “dead and down fuel”, Jed Gaines, a Cal Fire operations section chief, said.

Four firefighters have been injured in the fire, according to Cal Fire, the latest on Friday. Los Angeles news channel KESQ reported that a firefighter had been airlifted to a hospital after experiencing weakness on the frontlines, citing a Cal Fire official.

Thousands of firefighters, aided by cooler weather, made progress Saturday against three southern California wildfires, and officials in northern Nevada were hopeful that almost all evacuees from a blaze there could soon be home.

Authorities have started scaling back evacuations at the largest blaze. The Bridge fire east of Los Angeles has burned 81 sq miles (210 sq km), torched at least 33 homes and six cabins and forced the evacuation of 10,000 people. Two firefighters have been injured in the blaze, state fire officials said.

Don Freguila, an operations section chief, said Saturday that containment was estimated at 3% and improving, with nearly 2,500 firefighters working the lines. He said Saturday’s focus would be the fire’s west flank and northern edge near Wrightwood, where air tankers have dropped retardant on the flames in steep, rugged areas inaccessible to ground crews.

“A lot of good work. We’re really beating this up and starting to make some good progress,” Freguila said. He said a new spot fire broke out Friday night near the Mount Baldy ski area along the blaze’s southern edge, burning only about an acre before crews “buttoned it up”.

The Airport fire in Orange and Riverside counties has been difficult to tame because of the steep terrain and dry conditions, and because some areas hadn’t burned in decades. Reportedly sparked by workers using heavy equipment, it has burned more than 37 sq miles (96 sq km). It was 9% contained as of Saturday.

“Although direct lines have been challenging to build due to rugged terrain, favorable weather conditions have supported their efforts,” the Saturday situation report from the California department of forestry and fire protection said.

Eleven firefighters and two residents have been injured in the blaze, according to the Orange county fire authority. The fire has destroyed at least 27 cabins in the Holy Jim Canyon area, authorities said.

The southern California blazes have threatened tens of thousands of homes and other structures since they escalated during a triple-digit heatwave.

Smoke and ash from the wildfires have degraded the air quality, as the South Coast Air Quality Management District issued advisories for residents to limit their exposure to the smoky orange skies.

The blaze in Nevada near Lake Tahoe broke out last weekend, destroying 14 homes and burning through nearly 9 sq miles (23 sq km) of timber and brush along the Sierra Nevada’s eastern slope. Some 20,000 people were forced from their homes early this week.

Fire officials said there was a 90% chance the last of the evacuees would be able to return to their homes by the end of Saturday.

Containment of the blaze was estimated at 76% Saturday, fire spokesperson Celeste Prescott said. Some of the 700 crew members should soon be sent off to other fires, she added.

Firefighters were mostly mopping up but anticipated winds picking up in the afternoon, and so stood ready to attack any spots that flare up.

“We’re on the verge of big success here,” said Charles Moore, the Truckee Meadows fire district chief.