Line Fire among three in Southern California that have scorched more than 100,000 acres

As one of three wildfires that have scorched more than 100,000 acres by Wednesday morning, the massive Line Fire has sent people fleeing from their homes in San Bernardino County with more than 65,000 buildings threatened as the blaze burned 34,600 acres — or about 54 square miles — over the span of less than a week.

That's the current situation as of Wednesday morning as several communities remained under mandatory evacuations while firefighters worked through challenges from the terrain and weather conditions such as strong winds, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire. 

It's currently the fifth largest wildfire in California so far this year, just behind the Bridge Fire which is now the third-largest in 2024 and also broke out in just the past few days. 

Last week, the Line Fire first sparked along Base Line and Aplin streets in the city of Highland around 6 p.m. on Thursday and tore through several hundred acres before quickly growing over Friday night to surpass 3,000 acres. It torched tens of thousands of acres of brush over the weekend, forcing thousands to be placed under evacuation orders. 

By Saturday, it had scorched more than 7,000 acres and San Bernardino County officials issued a proclamation of emergency. Compounding a difficult situation as thousands of people were ordered to evacuate, a small earthquake rattled the area, according to the United States Geological Survey.

Paired with the sweltering heat, weather officials said smoke from the fire created clouds similar to those that come with thunderstorms, prompting reports of over 1,100 lightning strikes in the area. The small, fire-created storm system increased winds in the immediate area, fanning the flames as they continued to spread.

"These thunderstorms have been moving this fire around," San Bernardino County Fire Chief Dan Munsey said earlier this week. "The fire is moving northeast and we're concerned for the citizens of Big Bear."

As of Wednesday morning, the blaze had consumed 34,659 acres and was 14% contained, according to Cal Fire. About 9,200 of the more than 65,000 structures being threatened were placed under mandatory evacuation orders.

Late Tuesday, officials announced that they had made an arrest in connection with the fire's ignition, taking a 34-year-old Norco man into custody for alleged arson. 

More than 100,000 acres burned by three wildfires

The Line Fire is one of three major wildfires that have altogether burned through more than 104,000 acres as of Wednesday morning, according to Cal Fire. 

By that time, the Bridge Fire torched about 47,900 acres in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, or roughly 74 square miles, after exploding in size between Tuesday and Wednesday as mandatory evacuations remained in place. Meanwhile, the Airport Fire destroyed several homes as it tore through more than 22,000 acres in Orange and Riverside counties.

In the Line Fire, residents were reassured that their homes would be protected from things other than the fire if they did have to leave. 

"If anybody comes out to loot in this county they will be arrested and they will be prosecuted," San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus said. "We're going to be out there in force making sure that happens, including undercover units."

With the fire again growing on Tuesday, firefighters said that "public safety power shutoffs are anticipated for parts of the Big Bear and Bear Valley areas" in order to "construct control lines and protect structures and communities," Cal Fire crews said late Tuesday on X. 

Government assistance activated

Since the Line Fire more than tripled in size over the weekend, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Saturday night that allowed for additional resources and funding to assist with the firefight. By Wednesday morning, he secured FEMA funding for all three major wildfires in Southern California.

Gov. Gavin Newsom activated the California National Guard on Monday to join nearly 2,000 firefighters battling the Line Fire.

The order authorized the guard to deploy 80 soldiers as hand crews, four UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters, and two C-130 cargo planes to drop water and fire retardants. Cal Guard will also send a military police company to help local law enforcement in evacuated areas.

"As the Line Fire continues to pose a threat to San Bernardino communities, we're pouring resources into this incident aggressively by deploying more air and ground support through the California National Guard," Newsom wrote. 

Mandatory evacuations send residents fleeing

By early Monday, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department had issued evacuation orders for the entire communities of Running Springs, Arrowbear Lake, Forest Falls and Mountain Home Village, areas with a total population of more than 6,000 people. Later in the week, evacuations were expanded and included areas of Big Bear.

Meanwhile, hundreds of firefighters continued to grapple with weather conditions but managed to get containment up to 14% by Wednesday morning. Still, stifling heat and dry conditions remain a complicating factor as work is done around the clock.

"We know that triple-digit temperatures are coming again today, so that's why it's so important to get that work done at night when it is cooler," Cal Fire Battalion Chief Brent Pascua said earlier this week. "We had the water-dropping helicopters back last night, so hopefully we'll see that containment come up."

"The heat affects them tremendously. You know, the work-rest cycles? They can work for a little bit but the body just needs to take a break after awhile," Pascua said over the weekend of the firefighters working in extreme heat.

"We're just kind of on the edge, just waiting"

On Friday, the skies above San Bernardino County lit up in a glowing orange hue as bright red flames could be seen tearing through shrubbery. Some in Highland said they could see the rapidly growing fire from their homes.

"The flames were right up on us because the wind shifted," said Brian Gano, who was trying to hose down the flames alongside his wife and son. "I got a high-pressure line in my backyard."

People living in the area waited to hear whether they would have to evacuate. Resident Diya Hirpara was buying groceries as she tried to prepare.

"It was pretty scary," Hirpara said. "We're just kind of on the edge, just waiting."

Firefighters flew through thick, billowing plumes of smoke to make fire retardant drops, working against the blaze from the air and ground.

They managed to contain the flames within the San Bernardino National Forest, but winds started to sweep the fire toward homes.

"We had an aggressive firefight on our hands to protect those homes," Pascua said. 

The Los Angeles Fire Department dispatched a team of more than 20 firefighters and three engines to assist the crews battling the blaze. 

Air quality concerns

On Friday, air quality regulators issued a smoke advisory to warn people about harmful conditions as smoke from the Line Fire was carried by winds into surrounding areas. The air quality is considered "unhealthy for sensitive groups" to "very unhealthy," a category that indicates everyone — including people without any health conditions — may experience harmful side effects.   

According to the South Coast Air Quality Management District, winds were blowing smoke from the wildfire west toward the cities of Highland and San Bernardino, with people in those areas expected to feel the impacts on Friday and Saturday.

A map showing the latest smoke and air quality conditions can be found here.

The latest evacuation orders, road closures and more are listed here. 

CBS News Los Angeles' latest coverage on the wildfire can be found here.