OCBob
VIPER POWERED
There is a pretty bad fire burning here in the Inland Empire. I haven't seen the sun all day because of the smoke. Unfortunatly it has already claimed the lives of 3 firefighters. RIP
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The fast-moving Esperanza Fire killed three firefighters and critically injured two others about 8 a.m. today while they were trying to protect homes near Twin Pines, a U.S. Forest Service official said.
"I don't know the particulars. It was a complete burn-over. They were engulfed in fire in a matter of minutes," said Pat Boss, a Forest Service spokesman. "There were other engines in the area, but they were far enough away that they didn't get involved in the burn-over."
The victims were assigned to the Alandale Ranger Station in Idyllwild, Boss said.
Their engine was parked on San Gorgonio View Road when it was engulfed.
The Esperanza Fire, which has grown to 4,000 acres, was first reported at 1:12 am, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Capt. Julie Hutchinson said. The blaze, which is about 80 miles southeast of Los Angeles, is burning in steep, rocky areas accessible only by foot and is being fed by winds gusting up to 35 mph, Hutchinson said. The fire, which is traveling westward, is burning mostly grass and brush but could consume timber higher up the slopes.
Residents of Twin Pines and Poppet Flats -- nearly 200 homes in all -- were ordered to evacuate. Officials have set up evacuation centers at the Banning Community Center, 789 N. San Gorgonio Ave., and Hemet High School, 41701 Stetson Ave.
Hutchinson said the fire was two acres when first reported at Esperanza Avenue and the San Gorgonio River but winds doubled after sunrise, "so it moved very rapidly," she said.
About 500 personnel from Riverside County Fire/CDF and the U.S. Forest Service are fighting the fire. The fire has not closed traffic on either direction from Interstate 10, but the fire has forced the closure of Highway 243 from the Banning city limits south to the Pine Cove area, the California Highway Patrol said.
"We want everyone off the south side of the mountain," CHP Officer Tami Low said this morning by phone. "We definitely don't want anyone coming up here."
In the Cabazon area, flames have charred the flanks of several foothills but were still at least hundreds of yards from the freeway. A thick cloud of dark smoke was visible throughout the Inland area and the Coachella Valley.
Illustration: Click to enlarge
People gathered at the Banning Community Center said they started leaving their homes before daybreak when law enforcement officials told them to evacuate ahead of the advancing Esperanza Fire.
Ruby Pillar, 85, of Twin Pines Road in Banning, said she and her daughter, Shirley Ray, 68, who is visiting from Texas, left her home around 6 a.m. The two women drank McDonald's coffee as they stood inside the center to escape violent winds blowing outside.
Pillar said she was disturbed because some animals could not be transported as people evacuated. She saw a horse walking behind a van as she and her daughter headed toward the center.
"That was pitiful," Pillar said. "They didn't have anything to leave that horse in."
Residents with pets were being directed to take their animals to the Riverside County animal shelter in Thousand Palms, animal control spokesman John Welsh said.
By 10 a.m. animal control officers had helped rescue at least four horses and one llama, Welsh said.
Mike Upton of Gorgonio View Road said police came by about 5 a.m. and gave him 45 minutes to leave. He put three dogs in his pickup, but only one of them was his, Ozzie the German Shepard.
Val Luna, 51, of Twin Pines Road, 51, said she grabbed her laptop computer, which contained family pictures, before she rushed out the door. She said she's prepared to lose the rest of her possessions to the fire.
"Whatever stays, stays," Luna said. "That's it."
Southern California Edison has turned power off in some areas near the fire, a Riverside County fire dispatcher said this morning by phone. Edison spokesman Steve Conroy said he wasn't aware of any specific power cutoff, but said that it's often done at the request of firefighers so they don't have to be concerned with energized lines when fighting in structure-heavy areas.
Winds in the area of the fire were from the east at five to 10 miles per hour, with gusts up to twice that speed, Luther said.
A National Weather Service Red Flag Warning, indicating a high risk of wildfire, was in effect in much of Riverside County today because of high winds and low humidity.
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The fast-moving Esperanza Fire killed three firefighters and critically injured two others about 8 a.m. today while they were trying to protect homes near Twin Pines, a U.S. Forest Service official said.
"I don't know the particulars. It was a complete burn-over. They were engulfed in fire in a matter of minutes," said Pat Boss, a Forest Service spokesman. "There were other engines in the area, but they were far enough away that they didn't get involved in the burn-over."
The victims were assigned to the Alandale Ranger Station in Idyllwild, Boss said.
Their engine was parked on San Gorgonio View Road when it was engulfed.
The Esperanza Fire, which has grown to 4,000 acres, was first reported at 1:12 am, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Capt. Julie Hutchinson said. The blaze, which is about 80 miles southeast of Los Angeles, is burning in steep, rocky areas accessible only by foot and is being fed by winds gusting up to 35 mph, Hutchinson said. The fire, which is traveling westward, is burning mostly grass and brush but could consume timber higher up the slopes.
Residents of Twin Pines and Poppet Flats -- nearly 200 homes in all -- were ordered to evacuate. Officials have set up evacuation centers at the Banning Community Center, 789 N. San Gorgonio Ave., and Hemet High School, 41701 Stetson Ave.
Hutchinson said the fire was two acres when first reported at Esperanza Avenue and the San Gorgonio River but winds doubled after sunrise, "so it moved very rapidly," she said.
About 500 personnel from Riverside County Fire/CDF and the U.S. Forest Service are fighting the fire. The fire has not closed traffic on either direction from Interstate 10, but the fire has forced the closure of Highway 243 from the Banning city limits south to the Pine Cove area, the California Highway Patrol said.
"We want everyone off the south side of the mountain," CHP Officer Tami Low said this morning by phone. "We definitely don't want anyone coming up here."
In the Cabazon area, flames have charred the flanks of several foothills but were still at least hundreds of yards from the freeway. A thick cloud of dark smoke was visible throughout the Inland area and the Coachella Valley.
Illustration: Click to enlarge
People gathered at the Banning Community Center said they started leaving their homes before daybreak when law enforcement officials told them to evacuate ahead of the advancing Esperanza Fire.
Ruby Pillar, 85, of Twin Pines Road in Banning, said she and her daughter, Shirley Ray, 68, who is visiting from Texas, left her home around 6 a.m. The two women drank McDonald's coffee as they stood inside the center to escape violent winds blowing outside.
Pillar said she was disturbed because some animals could not be transported as people evacuated. She saw a horse walking behind a van as she and her daughter headed toward the center.
"That was pitiful," Pillar said. "They didn't have anything to leave that horse in."
Residents with pets were being directed to take their animals to the Riverside County animal shelter in Thousand Palms, animal control spokesman John Welsh said.
By 10 a.m. animal control officers had helped rescue at least four horses and one llama, Welsh said.
Mike Upton of Gorgonio View Road said police came by about 5 a.m. and gave him 45 minutes to leave. He put three dogs in his pickup, but only one of them was his, Ozzie the German Shepard.
Val Luna, 51, of Twin Pines Road, 51, said she grabbed her laptop computer, which contained family pictures, before she rushed out the door. She said she's prepared to lose the rest of her possessions to the fire.
"Whatever stays, stays," Luna said. "That's it."
Southern California Edison has turned power off in some areas near the fire, a Riverside County fire dispatcher said this morning by phone. Edison spokesman Steve Conroy said he wasn't aware of any specific power cutoff, but said that it's often done at the request of firefighers so they don't have to be concerned with energized lines when fighting in structure-heavy areas.
Winds in the area of the fire were from the east at five to 10 miles per hour, with gusts up to twice that speed, Luther said.
A National Weather Service Red Flag Warning, indicating a high risk of wildfire, was in effect in much of Riverside County today because of high winds and low humidity.
