Sheep Fire and Silence of the Lamb

Fire Chases 4,000 From Their Homes

Sheep fire forced thousands of residents to evacuate the mountaintop town of Wrightwood about 130km (80 miles) east of Los Angeles, according to state officials.

Having blackened 7,500 acres since Saturday, the blaze reached the outskirts of Wrightwood, a scenic resort town of 4,000 in the San Gabriel Mountains.

The blazed has destroyed at least 5 structures, but officials said they they could most probably save the town. The cause of the fire is still unknown/ undisclosed.

The fire containment, as of posting, was 20%.

Photo: Smoke rises Saturday evening over the San Bernardino Mountains. Credit: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times. Image may be subject to copyright.

Details of Sheep Fire:

• Incident Type:  Wildfire
• Cause: Under Investigation
• Date of Origin:  Saturday October 3, 2009 02:11 PM PCT
• Location:  Between Lytle Creek & Lone Pine Canyons

Current Situation:

• Total Personnel: 936
• Size: 7,500 acres
• Percent Contained: 20%
• Fuels Involved: Chaparral and timber
• Fire Behavior: Extreme fire behavior with rapid rates of spread, fire is fuel, topography, and wind driven
• Significant Events:  Numerous helitankers and fixed wing air tankers dropped water and retardant on the fire yesterday and back fires were set to protect homes at the eastern edge of Wrightwood. The fire has not crossed Hwy 138 or Hwy 2 at this time.

Outlook:

• Planned Actions: Crews are constructing direct fireline and numerous engine strike teams are in place for structure protection for the eastern portions of Wrightwood.

• Growth Potential:  Extreme

• Terrain Difficulty: Extreme

Remarks:

• The Forest Service is in unified command with San Bernardino County Fire and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. Resources assigned to the fire are:
  • 24 handcrews,
  • 80 engines,
  • 4 dozers,
  • 7 water tenders,
  • 6 helicopters and
  • 9 airtankers (including the DC-10 and the Martin Mars).

Evacuations:

• All residents of Wrightwood are under a mandatory evacuation. Mandatory evacuations remain for residents in Swarthout and Lone Pine Canyons, Hwy 138 between I-15 and Hess Road, and residents on the east side of Lytle Creek Road including Applewhite Campground and Mountain Lakes Resort. Road Closures: Hwy 2, Hwy 138 between I-15 and Hwy 2, Lone Pine Canyon Road, Lytle Creek Road. Lytle Creek road is open to residents only.

Current Weather

• Wind Conditions: 19 mph SW
• Temperature:  45 degrees F
• Humidity: 45%
• Source:  InciWeb

Incident Overview [from InciWeb]

The Sheep Fire started near Sheep Canyon Road near Lytle Creek at about 2:11 pm on Saturday October 3, 2009. It burned northeast to Swarthout Canyon Road, then northwest up Lone Pine Canyon. It is currently burning near the top of Lone Pine Canyon near Wrightwood, CA. It has not crossed Hwy 138 at this time. The fire is about 1/4 mile from Hwy 2 and homes in the area. Firefighters are cautiously optimistic at this time about keeping the fire from burning into Wrightwood. Numerous helitankers and fixed wing air tankers dropped water and retardant on the fire yesterday and back fires were set to protect homes at the eastern edge of Wrightwood. Engines are also continuing to do structure protection and hand crews are constructing fire line.

Mandatory evacuations are still in place for all Wrightwood, Swarthout Canyon, Lone Pine Canyon, and areas along Hwy 138 between I-15 and Hess Road. Mandatory evacuations also remain in place for the following areas in Lytle Creek: Applewhite Campground, Applewhite Picnic Area, and areas east of Lytle Creek Road up to and including Mountain Lakes RV Park. Evacuation Centers are located at Eisenhower High School in Rialto and at Victorville Fairgrounds. Small animals can be taken to the Devore Animal Shelter. Large and small animals may be taken to the Victorville Fairgrounds.

Related Links:

• Calif Fire Looks Like Volcanic Eruption
• SoCal End-to-End Corporate Arsons Blaze On!
• Calif Fires 2009 – Part 2 ‘We’re Watching You!’ [includes entries up to September 22, 2009]
• California Fires 09 – Part 3 ‘Pile on the Manure, Sheriff!’  [for entries dated after September 22, 2009]

• Hazard Mapping System Fire and Smoke Product [Links to Satellite Images]
• Our Forecast for 2009 California Fires
  
• Thought for the Day: The Car Salesman & SoCal Fires
• Tell Schwarzenegger Damage from Fires Is Preventable!
• Shock and Awe Southland Fires Take No Prisoners
• California Fires: Not Hard to Understand!
• The War on Wildfire
• Links to FEWW SoCal Fires Entries