Category Old News

Winds up to 20 mph fanned the fire across 6,000 acres, said Doug Lannon, a battalion chief for the California Department of Forestry. The fire originally had started as part of a series of lightning-sparked blazes. It was brought under control but erupted again.

A wildfire burned several structures in a desert community where dozens of Hollywood Westerns were filmed, and threatened other towns while prompting 1,000 people to flee.

Historic buildings in the Old West movie set area of Pioneertown had been spared, but several other structures were destroyed, fire officials said Wednesday.

Desert winds and blistering heat on Wednesday challenged firefighters battling a 36,000-acre wildfire that destroyed buildings and forced hundreds of people to leave but spared historic structures in a town developed decades ago as a movie set for westerns.

A huge wildfire was edging toward San Bernardino National Forest Thursday, worrying fire officials that I could grow rapidly and get close to the resort community of Big Bear Lake and add to the nearly 100 structures it had already devoured.

A wildfire that has already burned 40,000 acres and destroyed 100 buildings roared through high desert wilderness. Thursday, threatening to merge with a fire in national forest land filled with dead, dry trees.

Thousands of firefighters aided by aircraft yesterday worked in fierce heat to keep two big wildfires from gaining a foothold in the heavily populated San Bernardino Mountains, where millions of trees killed by drought and bark beetles could provide explosive fuel.