ANGELUS OAKS – (INT) – Fire fighters are conducting burning out operations along Highway 38 in hopes spotting by the El Dorado Fire in the San Bernardino National Forest can be stopped.

Flames continue to back down toward the highway with occasional upslope runs on the flanks of San Bernardino Peak.

The 2-week-old fire has expanded to 22,439 acres and is 59 percent contained.

To the west in the Angeles National Forest, the larger and more dangerous Bobcat Fire is active on three fronts.

It has covered 142 square miles jumping containment lines along the fire’s northern edge near the Antelope Valley, Los Angeles County Fire Department Chief Daryl Osby said. The fire has grown by about 30,000 acres since Friday morning.

Flames ripped through several structures in the Antelope Valley, sending plumes of black smoke billowing over the region as firefighters raced to defend the communities, video showed.

Firefighters continue to work to protect the still-threatened Mt. Wilson Observatory.

Big Pines and Wrightwood lie about 5 and 8 miles away from the fire’s path and firefighters expect those communities to be impacted “very soon,” according to InciWeb.

In Riverside County, the Snow Fire is now 6,013 acres and 15% contained. Evacuation orders for the Snow Creek area have been lifted. Evacuation warnings for the Windy Point community off of Overture Drive at the extreme northwest end of Palm Springs remain in place.

In Northern California, there are signs that cooler weather and higher humidity is easing the wildfire danger. But, it will be weeks before the major fires are considered contained with full control to follow.

Where there is weather improvement some National Forests reopened to the public Saturday. However, the San Bernardino, Angeles and Cleveland National Forests in Southern California, remain closed at this time. The closures are being re-evaluated daily.

Forests that reopened Saturday: Eldorado NF, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, Lassen NF, Mendocino NF, Modoc NF, Plumas NF, Shasta-Trinity NF, Stanislaus NF, and the Tahoe NF.

Forest Service officials say they are stretched for resources.

Story Date: September 20, 2020