Wilderness Fire Chars 3,500 Acres

A brush fire burned Thursday for the second day in the Angeles National Forest south of Wrightwood, charring 3,500 acres of rugged wilderness that is home to endangered bighorn sheep.

One firefighter was taken to a hospital after suffering heat exhaustion.

The blaze moved north through the Sheep Mountain Wilderness, one of three key habitats for about 300 bighorn sheep that live in the San Gabriel Mountains, U.S. Forest Service officials said Thursday. No sheep were reported harmed. There were no plans to evacuate the resort community of Wrightwood, which has about 3,000 residents. The fire was about four miles from the town late Thursday, officials said. The fire began Wednesday when campers on a trail above the scenic Bridge to Nowhere tried to dispose of toilet paper by burning it.

“They thought it was the environmentally sound thing to do,” said Forest Service spokeswoman Linda Christman. “They should have dug a hole and buried it.”

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The concrete bridge, officially named the Narrows Bridge, arches 250 feet above Southern California’s deepest gorge and is a favorite site among thrill-seeking bungee jumpers. The 150-foot-long span was undamaged.

A total of 500 firefighters were summoned, many awaiting orders at a nearby staging area. The battle was conducted mainly by air, with 12 helicopters and eight air tankers in use.

Firefighters contended with temperatures around 90 degrees, an unforgiving landscape and tumbling rocks loosened by fire.

“It’s rugged, rugged, steep terrain,” said Susie Wood, a Forest Service spokeswoman.

To make matters more difficult, getting to the remote fire zone meant a hike of 2 1/2 hours. Wood said officials were considering taking firefighters by helicopter. “It’s a wilderness area, so there’s no roads,” Wood said.

The 41,200-acre zone was designated as a federal wilderness area in 1984.

The sheep population was estimated at 600 to 800 four years ago but now is about half that number, said Patti Krueger, a Forest Service wildlife biologist. One reason for the decline, Krueger said, is a dwindling supply of vegetation.

She said the fire could improve conditions for the sheep by burning underbrush that has accumulated in the 44 years since the last blaze in the wilderness zone. Fire prompts the growth of new grass and shoots that are favorites of bighorn sheep and deer.