“It’s critical that residents in the impacted areas remain vigilant and prepare to evacuate immediately if called for by local authorities,” said California Gov. Gavin Newsom in a statement.

The Line Fire in Southern California has set over 20,500 acres ablaze and is 0% contained.

The wildfire was discovered Thursday, according to InciWeb’s data. It’s located in San Bernardino County, around 121 miles northeast of Los Angeles.

High temperatures have increased the fire’s activity Sunday night and will continue through Monday, and then temperatures will be below normal by Wednesday.

The fire is spreading towards the northeast direction, according to Daily Press, a part of the USA TODAY Network. However, the cooler weather will help moderate the flames below the marine level.

Over 36,000 structures, including single and multi-family homes, commercial buildings, and others, are threatened by the fire, and thousands are forced to evacuate.

The fire also set areas of the San Bernadino National Forest ablaze.

A Damage Inspection Team was ordered, and there were 1,855 personnel assigned to fight the fire while more resources arrived from other parts of the California.

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What caused the fire?

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

However, as firefighting efforts continued on Sunday, rising temperatures allowed the fire to increase, according to InciWeb.

“Temperatures ranged from the upper 80s to the mid-100s over the fire area,” stated its website.

Line fire map

State of emergency

California Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency and secured “a Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help ensure the availability of vital resources to suppress the fire,” stated a press release, as the fire grew over 17,400 acres on Saturday.

“It’s critical that residents in the impacted areas remain vigilant and prepare to evacuate immediately if called for by local authorities,” said Newsom in a statement.

Emergency declared after Line Fire grows

California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency in San Bernardino County where a fire has exploded past 17,000 acres.

Evacuation orders

People in areas with evacuation orders are required to leave for their safety as “there is an immediate threat to life and property,” according to InciWeb.

The following locations have been ordered to evacuate the area:

• The area from Calle Del Rio to Hwy 38, including Greenspot Road North
• Underdeveloped land from east of Highway 330 to Summertrail Place and north of Highland Avenue
• Areas of Running Spring east of Highway 330 and south of Highway 18
• Community of Running Springs
• Community of Arrow Bear Lake
• East of Orchard Road to Cloverhill from Highland Avenue north to the foothills
• North of Highland Avenue and East of Palm Avenue to Highway 330
• Garnett Street east to the 138 and Mill Creek north to the foothills
• Community of Forest Falls 
• Community of Mountain Home Village

The following areas have evacuation warnings:

Conditions may worsen in areas with an evacuation warnings. People in the following areas will need to evacuate should conditions change, according to InciWeb:

• Boulder Avenue east to Church Street
• Greenspot Road north to the foothills
• Church Street east to the city limit
• Area from the foothills south to Greenspot Road
• Green Valley Lake, north of Highway 18
• Community of Cedar Glen
• Community of Lake Arrowhead
• Community of Crestline
• Community of Valley of Enchantment
• Angelus Oaks
• Seven Oaks
• Garnet Street to Bryant Street and Carter Street North the Mill Creek 

Contributing: Rene Ray De La Cruz, Victorville Daily Press

Julia is a trending reporter for USA TODAY. She has covered various topics, from local businesses and government in her hometown, Miami, to tech and pop culture. You can connect with her on LinkedIn, follow her on X, formerly Twitter, Instagram and TikTok: @juliamariegz, or email her at jgomez@gannett.com.

A raging wildfire spreading across southern California has sparked its own destructive weather, including thunderstorms that brought a series of devastating lightning bolts, according to weather experts.

As the fire near the San Bernardino National Forest has rapidly grown in size over the weekend and forced thousands to flee their homes, the powerful blaze has created its own tiny weather system hampering efforts to control the inferno.

“The fire itself helped spawn its own thunderstorms,” meteorologist Dave Munyan, of the National Weather Service, told the New York Times.

“Most of the aviation-based fire tactics had to be suspended yesterday due to the lightning.”

The incredible natural phenomenon is called pyrocumulonimbus, which in simpler terms means a fire-generated storm.

The intense heat from the wildfire – which has reportedly burned more than 17,000 acres — rises into the air, and when combined with enough moisture can lead to thunderstorms, Munyan told the Times.

Officials said there were reports of more than 1,100 lighting strikes in the area from the smoke that has formed into thunderstorm clouds, CBS News reported.

The mini weather system can also result in gusty winds that could help spread the fire.

More than 11,000 people have been issued evacuation orders, the Times reported – as more than 35,000 homes and buildings are threatened by the fire.

The so-called Line Fire was originally reported in the area of Baseline Street and Aplin Street last Thursday, but with “critically dry” vegetation and temperatures reaching more than 100 degrees, the inferno quickly grew larger, according to Cal Fire.

More than 600 firefighters are battling the blaze, but so far none of it is contained. 

There are no reported fatalities, but three firefighters have been injured so far.

It’s not known what started the wildfire.

With Post wires

Esmeralda Marie Pineda was camping with three friends in the Northern California wilderness on Aug. 25 when she told them she wanted to go home to Sacramento. She was gone when they woke up the next morning, NBC News reports. “So, her friends went searching for her during that day, and couldn’t find any signs whether she had made it out,” said Sgt. Dustin Moe of the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said. Deputies found the 24-year-old on Friday, “severely dehydrated and emaciated” and in need of immediate medical attention after 12 days in the wilderness. Pineda was airlifted to a hospital for treatment.

“She was able to pick her head up and kind of wave at us when we were driving in the area,” Moe said, per KCRA. “It’s just shocking what the human body can endure for that long period of time.” Pineda had last been seen near the middle fork of the Yuba River and Sweetland Creek, officials said. The area is “treacherous in nature and required skilled Nevada County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue volunteers to repel into and out of the canyon to look for her,” the statement added. Pineda was found at the top of the river canyon, indicating that she’d made a steep climb, sheriff’s officials said. There are no trail systems in that area, “so people just generally don’t go down there,” Moe said. (More search and rescue stories.)