Blue Cut Fire
| Blue Cut Fire | |
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Smoke rises above the fire on August 17
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| Location | Cajon Pass, San Bernardino County, California |
| Coordinates | 34°15′32″N 116°54′15″W / 34.259°N 116.90427°WCoordinates: 34°15′32″N 116°54′15″W / 34.259°N 116.90427°W |
| Statistics | |
| Date(s) | August 16, 2016 - August 23, 2016 |
| Burned area | 37,000 acres (14,973 ha) |
| Cause | Under investigation |
| Buildings destroyed |
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| Map | |
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The Blue Cut Fire was a wildfire in the Cajon Pass, northeastern San Gabriel Mountains, and Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County, California. The fire, which began on the Blue Cut hiking trail, was first reported on August 16, 2016 at 10:36 a.m., just west of Interstate 15. A red flag warning was in effect in the area of the fire, with temperatures near 100 °F (38 °C) and winds gusting up to 30 miles per hour (48 km/h).
By August 18, the fire had burned 37,000 acres (57.8 sq mi; 149.7 km2) of land and destroyed 105 homes and 213 other structures.
Shortly after the fire broke out, evacuations began to be ordered for the nearby communities of West Cajon Valley, Lytle Creek, Lone Pine Canyon and Swarthout Canyon. By 3:00 p.m. on August 16, less than six hours after the fire started, it had spread westward to over 5,500 acres (2,200 ha), forcing additional mandatory evacuation orders for most of Oak Hills, Phelan and Summit Valley.
Two firefighters were injured and briefly hospitalized on the morning of August 17, 2016 after becoming trapped while protecting homes in Swarthout Canyon.
In a conference on August 17, the incident commander, battalion chief Michael Wakoski, stated that Cajon Pass acts as a natural wind tunnel, creating a funnel that can increase wind speeds by 20–30 miles per hour (32–48 km/h). These winds were causing the fire to spot upwards of a half mile (0.8 km) ahead of itself.
By Thursday, August 18, the fire had grown to over 31,600 acres (49.4 sq mi; 127.9 km2) and forced the evacuation of over 82,000 residents. The evacuations affected an estimated 34,500 residences.
On Monday, August 22, fire officials said they had the fire 89% contained. The damaged area had grown to 37,020 acres (57.8 sq mi; 149.8 km2).
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