Fire Roars Through Forest Area

A swift-moving wildfire that began on an American Indian reservation in San Jacinto on Friday destroyed a home and threatened to overtake a trailer park and hundreds of homes in Poppet Flats near the San Bernardino National Forest, authorities said.

More than 500 firefighters supported by helicopters, air tankers, fire engines and bulldozers attacked the 6,400-acre fire into the evening.

All the residents in Poppet Flats, a mountain community of 1,500 people northeast of Hemet, were forced to evacuate and two firefighters were treated for smoke inhalation, said Riverside County Fire Capt. Rick Vogt.

The blaze was one of three large brush fires scorching Southern California on Friday evening.

Another fast-moving fire that started Thursday in a ranch pasture in Agua Dulce, 30 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, burned through 1,600 acres.

More than 500 firefighters assisted by air tankers dropping fire retardant and water-dropping helicopters helped slow the blaze and prevent it from burning toward an area with 200 homes, Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Mark Savage said.

By Friday evening, it was 60% contained. No homes or structures were burned.

Near Lake Isabella in Kern County, a 1,100-acre fire threatened up to 200 buildings and homes, said Donna Sulu of the Kern County Fire Department.

The fire, which was only 10% contained, reached the southern edge of the Sequoia National Forest, but lingered 25 miles south of the giant trees, fire officials said.

“It’s a long way away and it’s heading in the wrong direction,” said Forest Service spokesman Matt Mathes.

No evacuations were called, but the fire was endangering scattered homes and outbuildings ranging from ranches to resort cabins in the rugged area south of the lake, Sulu said.

Flames roared through brush and oak woodlands in the region, about 100 miles north of Los Angeles.

About 675 firefighters were on the line, aided by 13 water-dropping aircraft.

The Riverside County fire briefly threatened homes on the reservation, sending residents scurrying for water hoses.

“The fire was right up to their back doors,” said Robert Salgado, tribal chairman for the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians.

It was reported at about 1:30 p.m. and originated at Soboba Road and Juaro Canyon.

The fire then moved north, away from the reservation and its Soboba Casino, only to creep toward hundreds of homes near California Highway 243, Vogt said.

A stretch of that highway from Banning to the mountain community of Pine Cove was shut down, he said.

At an evacuation center at Banning High School, American Red Cross workers prepared for a number of displaced residents.

Marynell Marsh, 71, leafed through a Bible she took when she left her Poppet Flats home. She looked for passages about pleading to God to prevent calamity.

“It’s not going to burn down,” she said. Her husband, Donald Marsh, 73, added, “Pray that it doesn’t.”

The couple had disconnected electrical wires and taken extra cash, but had forgotten to retrieve insurance papers, they said.

They also had to leave their two dogs and a few other pets.

“I’m worried about them,” Donald Marsh said.

The fire spread rapidly, aided by the terrain.

“It’s the geography. The fire burns uphill faster,” Vogt said. “The brush out here is very dry from drought conditions.”

A firefighter was treated for smoke inhalation, but no other injuries were reported, he said.

California’s largest current blaze, covering about 8,010 acres in Lassen County about 30 miles northeast of Susanville, was 90% contained and the firefighting force was being reduced.

“We’re making great progress on this fire,” said Jeff Fontana of the federal Bureau of Land Management.

“That big rainstorm the night before last has just really helped a ton.”

One firefighter suffered a knee injury while working the blaze, which was sparked by lightning Sunday.

Smoldering fires ignited by other lightning strikes were expected to keep popping up, Fontana said.

In Central California, an 80-acre fire about 40 miles east of Fresno threatened homes in the small hillside community of Auberry before it was contained shortly after 8:30 p.m. Thursday.

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Times staff writer Julie Tamaki and Associated Press contributed to this report.