Stubborn Heat Stokes Rash of Fires

Sizzling temperatures combined with bone-dry brush Sunday left firefighters scrambling to get the upper hand on a rash of blazes scorching thousands of acres in Southern California. Faculty, summer students and visitors at the Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts, along with residents of more than 500 houses near the Riverside County school, were ordered evacuated Sunday evening as a fire of more than 5,000 acres raged out of control in the mountains above Palm Springs.

“Ashes were coming down like rain, and the cars were lined up behind us as far as we could see,” said Theresa Benavidez, 18, who had taken refuge with her mother and sisters in the gym of Palm Desert High School, 25 miles away, where an evacuation center was set up Sunday night.

Each summer brings fires, she said, but “this was different. There were fires in every direction.” The family had packed their silver Toyota with clothes as a precaution shortly before they were ordered to leave their Idyllwild home near the 205-acre arts campus.

The fire was started by sparks from ricocheting bullets fired by target shooters, said U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Lenore Will.

Amid three-digit temperatures, more than 750 firefighters, aided for a time by 10 air tankers, fought to keep the blaze away from the school, the town of Idyllwild and the nearby village of Pine Cove in the San Jacinto Mountains east of Hemet, Will said.

Many of those in Idyllwild and Pine Cove--tourists, campers and residents alike--left voluntarily only to find themselves in their cars on roads choked with heavy traffic. By Sunday evening, authorities were turning back traffic along major roads into the mountain communities, and using all the lanes for evacuees.

Authorities said most of the campers had left on their own early Sunday, but one state-run campground with 50 campsites was ordered evacuated. Officials said they were prepared to order the evacuation of Pine Cove itself should shifting winds push flames close enough to threaten the town.

In the Angeles National Forest, hundreds of firefighters struggled to beat back a searing blaze near Shoemaker Canyon and East Fork Road north of Azusa.

That fire had blackened more than 300 acres by 4 p.m., and sheriff’s deputies were advising about 500 people to leave a nearby campground, a sheriff’s spokeswoman said. Deputies and a search-and-rescue team used trucks and a helicopter to expedite the evacuation.

In Riverside County, the heavy smoke blanketing Pine Cove made it appear that twilight had descended at midday. The town’s normal population of 600 had swelled to 2,000 over the weekend with all six of its campgrounds full, officials said.

The fire, which began in Bee Canyon, just east of Hemet, is one of at least seven that plagued Riverside County.

In other fires, officials predicted that a blaze that burned more than 1,300 acres near Temecula will be contained by 6 p.m. today. That fire, which began at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, destroyed a home, four vehicles, two sheds, two motor homes and three mobile homes, authorities said.

The fire also destroyed the maintenance yard at the Red Hawk Golf Course near Temecula, causing $25,000 in damage, fire officials said.

In Highland Springs near Banning, firefighters gained the upper hand on a blaze that scorched 1,143 acres of steep rocky terrain. Full containment is expected at 8 a.m. today, officials said.

A 600-acre fire that burned two structures in Lake Riverside in southwestern Riverside County should be contained by 8 a.m. today, officials said.

Authorities predicted that they would have control by midnight Sunday of a 538-acre fire of undetermined origin in Moreno Valley. And a blaze in Murrieta was reported contained at 3:30 p.m. Sunday.

A 40-acre fire damaged or destroyed 12 structures--including at least one home--in Riverside County’s Mead Valley on Saturday evening. Shirli Souther suffered second- and third-degree burns on her arms while trying to save her animals in the blaze that destroyed her home. She lost two small dogs in the fire.

Firefighting was made more difficult by temperatures that reached 112 degrees in Palm Springs and 95 at the Los Angeles Civic Center.

The heat sent people in droves to Southland beaches, where powerful surf and strong riptides kept lifeguards busy.

“It’s one of the most crowded days I’ve seen in a couple of years,” said Los Angeles County Lifeguard Lt. Robert McGowan at Hermosa Beach. He estimated that there were more than 300,000 people crowded onto South Bay beaches. Lifeguards carried out more than 100 rescues, he said.

Beaches were just as jammed in Santa Monica, where lifeguards warned swimmers of dangerous surf. Lifeguard David Estey said scores of swimmers had been rescued.

Temperatures will be above 90 at the Civic Center through Tuesday, when a strong high pressure ridge sitting across much of the western United States will begin to move off, allowing a marine layer to begin building, said Curtis Brack, a meteorologist at WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times.

By week’s end, temperatures should settle in the low 80s, he said.

Leeds reported from Los Angeles and Marcum from Riverside County. Times correspondent Ann Hennessy in Hemet also contributed to this report.