Residents begin to return home as Blue Cut fire continues to burn

Aug. 18--What a difference a day makes, even in the life of a wildfire that has burned 50 square miles in three days.

To be sure, smoke was still billowing Thursday above the Blue Cut fire. But mostly gone is the explosive growth: towering flames that consumed whole trees, threatened entire neighborhoods and tried to jump highways.

"A total 180 (degree turn) in conditions today," agreed Capt. Lou Gaytan, who is helping to oversee a strike team of five fire engines from the Los Angeles County Fire Department. "We're looking good."

Evacuation orders were lifted Thursday afternoon for residents of south Hesperia and East Oak Hills, and Thursday evening for West Oak Hills.

--Live Updates: Latest on the Blue Cut fire from our reporters and photographers in the field

Barring a blow-up in the afternoon -- when extremely high temperatures, low humidity and gusty winds can turn a docile fire into a raging monster -- Thursday is a day of building fire lines meant to encircle the blaze eventually.

Just when that will happen, fire officials won't predict. The latest estimate remains that containment lines have been built along 4 percent of the fire's perimeter.

Residents began returning Thursday to homes they left as the fast-moving fire approached, not sure what would be there to greet them.

Daniel Martinez, 48, returned to his south Oak Hills home relieved to find it completely unscathed.

"When we heard the Summit Inn burned to the ground, we were worried this fire would become far worse than what it is," he said. "My wife is already inside crying tears of joy."

--Photos: The Blue Cut fire burns for a third day

Construction contractor Raymond Adkins, 34, was not as lucky.

"We had some minor damage on the south-side wall after some debris caught fire," Adkins said. "Thankfully it's repairable and not a structural issue."

Not everyone left, despite pleas from authorities.

Andrea and John Binder, of Happy Jack, a cluster of homes north of Lytle Creek, ignored evacuation orders to help firefighters protect their home as well as others in the enclave, which he said is too tight to easily get fire engines into.

As evening came Wednesday, their gas-powered pump sucked water from a nearby creek and was "keeping wet" Engine 9 from Heartland Fire Rescue El Cajon whose crew was keeping watch on flames coming down a hill opposite Happy Jack.

"We've been told to get out 110 times," John Binder said. "I know where to draw the line when it comes to the safety of my family."

It helps that he once was a volunteer firefighter in Riverside County.

--Inside the Fire: What made the Blue Cut fire so relentlessly fast

"I'm not just a resident knucklehead staying in the way," he said, wearing a set of yellow turn out gear and helping to keep an eye on Engine 9's pump.

Sheriff's deputies arrested three people Thursday morning on suspicion of trying to steal a flatbed truck from Swarthout Canyon after that area was evacuated.

On Wednesday, San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon said officials were on the lookout for potential looters.

"That's a real tragedy when a suspect takes advantage of people who have been evacuated," McMahon said. "I don't think it gets much lower than that."

The Sheriff's Department had not received any additional reports of looting in the fire area by Thursday afternoon.

The Blue Cut fire has left about 967 customers without power as of noon Thursday, according to Southern California Edison.

Areas with fire-related outages include Hesperia, Oak Hills, Pinon Hills, Phelan, Rancho Cucamonga and Victorville, SCE said on Twitter.

--Arrests: 3 taken into custody on suspicion of looting home evacuated during Blue Cut fire

"We're currently staging additional personnel & materials (poles, wires, transformers) in impacted #BlueCutFire areas," the utility company said.

The fire -- which officials most recently said was 31,600 acres -- has also led San Bernardino County officials to activate their Mass Care and Shelter Plan, county spokesman David Wert said in a news release.

Cots, food, showers and restrooms are available in the shelter at 14800 7th Street in Victorville, Wert said.

Evacuees who have been sheltering in recreational vehicles may park their RVs at the fairgrounds and receive services while continuing to shelter in their RVs. Utility hookups for RVs will most likely not be available, so RVs must be self-sufficient.

An animal shelter and counseling services are available, according to Wert.

The southbound 15 Freeway through the Cajon Pass opened at 10:45 a.m. Thursday, with the exception of the left-most lane from Oak Hill Road to Highway 138, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The southbound lanes were closed Tuesday at Ranchero Road in Hesperia as the Blue Cut fire spread.

All off-ramps will remain closed, the CHP said in an earlier tweet.

--More Photos: The Blue Cut fire -- Day 2

The northbound lanes of the 15 Freeway were reopened late Wednesday night.

The Blue Cut fire grew slightly overnight to Thursday morning, reaching 31,600 acres with 4 percent containment as firefighters battled it for the third day. That's only slightly larger than the night before, with the same percent of its perimeter contained.

"This is still a raging wildfire," said Tracey Martinez, spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County Fire Department.

More resources -- equipment, firefighters and fire managers -- were on the job Thursday with more on the way, Martinez said. More than 1,500 people are involved in fighting the fire, and the cause has not been established.

The fire has destroyed about a dozen homes since Tuesday, though no official numbers have been provided.

Mary and John Gress were among the thousands who were forced to leave their West Cajon Valley homes when the fire exploded and raced west toward the Wrightwood area.

"It was nerve-racking not knowing," said Mary Gress about watching the round-the-clock coverage of the wildfire and not knowing if they would have a home to go home to once the evacuation orders had been lifted.

--Fire Map: Where the Blue Cut fire is burning

Wednesday afternoon, someone managed to snap a picture of their home and texted it to the nervous couple.

"We've been blessed," Gress said Thursday as she sat at the Mountain Top Cafe near Wrightwood.

Young Kim lost a few outbuildings on his property south of Highway 138 but was glad his house was still standing.

Kim's roommate, James Webb, and two other men, stayed in their home Wednesday and with the help of firefighters, kept the flames from destroying their home.

"The firefighters were amazing," said Webb. "What they did and what they've been doing to save the homes have been great."

Stranded motorists trying to get to the High Desert and beyond were able to get back on the road. However, highways 138 and 2 remain closed.

The fire did not damage the 15 Freeway itself, but it did damage guardrails that need to be repaired, said Caltrans spokeswoman Terri Kasinga. Throughout the evening, flatbed trucks delivered concrete K-rails, which were being set up as barricades in areas where the guardrails had been burned.

--Community: Phelan cafe becomes Blue Cut fire gathering spot, helps residents and first responders

Winds were expected to push flames up through the Lytle Creek and Lone Pine canyons, according to the incident commander's fire behavior forecast. Ridge-top winds are blowing from the south-southwest could spread flames into the Wrightwood area through Slover Canyon at the top of Lone Pine Canyon.

Flames could also spread to the west, north of Highway 138.

Crews will be spraying fire-resistant gel on homes that are potentially in danger, just as they did in 2015 during the Lake fire in the Big Bear area. Then the practice was credited with saving 15 to 20 buildings.

Also Thursday, teams are assessing damage to property. That information will help San Bernardino County decide what services, such as assessors, tax collectors and insurance companies, need to be brought to the neighborhoods that burned, Martinez said.

The teams also will note which properties had defensible spaces around them that would limit the likelihood that homes would burn. Martinez said even if some homes burned despite clearing brush and flammable property, "Defensible space has been proven to save lives and save property."

On Wednesday, crews were able to prevent flames from jumping some fire breaks dug by bulldozers.

"They definitely saved the communities of Wrightwood and Lytle Creek," Martinez said.

--Railways: Half of Cajon Pass rail tracks reopen after Blue Cut fire hobbles cargo shipping

As firefighting efforts continued into Thursday, the mountain communities of Lytle Creek and Wrightwood remained threatened amid a forecast of gusty winds and low humidity.

Firefighters were able to protect those mountain communities as well as the West Cajon Valley, San Bernardino County Fire Chief Mark Hartwig said in a tweet Thursday.

Many seasoned firefighters had never seen a fire behave like the Blue Cut fire, U.S. Forest Service supervisor Jody Noiron told them at a briefing Thursday morning.

"Some of you have been doing this 30 years," she said.

The fire was first spotted on the west side of the 15 Freeway near Kenwood Avenue late Tuesday morning. It quickly exploded from a few acres to a few hundred, and continued to grow at an alarming pace.

--More Photos: The Blue Cut fire -- Day 1

Several veteran fire officials commented on the rapid pace of the fire, which may have been aided by a combination of dry brush and erratic winds.

Cal Fire Capt. Gretchen Gonzales said the "winds have been awful" Wednesday as her Thousand Palms crew worked to successfully protect the communities in Lytle Creek, where Sheep Canyon and Lytle Creek roads meet.

BNSF said in a statement Thursday that while two of its main lines between San Bernardino and Barstow re-opened Wednesday evening, a third would remain closed.

Shipments moving through that corridor could be delayed 36 to 48 hours, the statement said.

Staff writers John Blodgett, Richard Brooks, Doug Saunders, Ali Tadayon, and Beau Yarbrough contributed to this report.

More coverage:

--More Photos: The Blue Cut fire -- Day 1

--Late Wednesday: Blue Cut Fire in Cajon Pass downgraded; 25,626 acres burned, 4 percent contained

--Risky: Fire evacuation orders 'not a joke,' authorities say, but some stay anyway

--Freeways: Northbound I-15 through Cajon Pass reopens, southbound still closed from Blue Cut fire damage

--Schools: What schools are closed on Friday because of the Blue Cut fire in the Cajon Pass?

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