Catalina and Other Wildfires Rage On

Firefighters from throughout the region battled a raging blaze on Santa Catalina Island on Sunday, using boats, helicopters and several hovercraft in an unusual mission to ferry crews and supplies to the popular Channel Islands retreat.

The Catalina fire was one of at least eight fires that burned throughout Southern California over the weekend, consuming several thousand acres of dry brush by late Sunday and keeping firefighters busy under sweltering temperatures.

“It’s one of those days where fire departments can be stretched to their very limits,” said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Ballton.

To battle the Catalina Island blaze, at least four hovercraft were deployed from Camp Pendleton to carry fire engines across the water to the island. The fires smoldered west of the Catalina airport, which was shut down Sunday, and east of an area known as Two Harbors, the Los Angeles County Fire Department reported.

Sparked by multiple lightning strikes Saturday morning, the Catalina fire had charred nearly 800 acres of the 76-square-mile island by early Sunday evening. Despite rugged terrain and sizzling high ambient temperatures, firefighters had contained 35% of the blaze. Authorities predicted full containment by Tuesday.

More than 200 firefighters were dispatched to contain the fire, drawn from the Los Angeles County Fire Department and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention, as well as from Orange County and the cities of Los Angeles and Avalon, which lies on the southeast tip of the island.

“This doesn’t happen that often,” said Fire Inspector Ron Haralson of the L.A. County Fire Department.

Firefighters were able to mount a coordinated response to the island fire thanks to emergency planning that included an arrangement with the Marine Corps to borrow hovercraft when needed, he said.

A few residents were evacuated Saturday night but they were allowed to return to their homes once the firefighting effort had been fully launched, Haralson said.

Business went largely uninterrupted at the other end of the island.

“This is a really busy time of the year; people are still coming,” said Clare Roberts, who takes reservations at the Snug Harbor Inn in Avalon. “The fire is a long, long way away from us. You can’t smell or see anything.”

Fires raged elsewhere in the region, burning acres of brush and creating smoky plumes that drifted for miles.

A fire in the Cajon Pass, which had jammed traffic and forced the evacuation of two ranches Saturday, continued to burn Sunday, Forest Service officials said.

As of early Sunday afternoon, the flames had burned 447 acres and firefighters had contained about 50% of the blaze.

The fire started around 11:30 a.m. Saturday near a runaway truck ramp on Interstate 15, U.S. Forest Service spokesman Jason Kirchner said.

Winds also pushed a new wildfire, the Horse Fire, in the Pine Creek Wilderness area of the Cleveland National Forest in southeast San Diego County, burning about 6,000 acres by Sunday evening.

About 500 firefighters fought that fire, employing 48 engines and four air tankers.

The blaze, which started just after 6 a.m., forced the evacuation of 100 structures and several road closures, said California Department of Forestry spokeswoman Roxanne Provaznik.

The blaze began on the east side of Lyons Valley Road in Horsethief Canyon, near Japatul Valley Road. The cause of the Cleveland National Forest fire was still under investigation and completely uncontained as of Sunday evening.

In Joshua Tree National Park, fires charred nearly 700 acres by Sunday morning after lightning set off a blaze in the Whispering Pines area Saturday night.

Fires burned throughout the weekend in Riverside and Santa Barbara counties. The Heart-Millard fire in the San Bernardino Mountains, which has been burning since July 14, was more than 60% contained by late Sunday.