A chopper flies over a burning home as the Edgehill fire burns in the Little Mountain neighborhood of San Bernardino and forces evacuations on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (Photo by Brian Spears, Contributing photographer)
At least four homes on Little Mountain in San Bernardino were damaged or destroyed in a fire Monday afternoon, Aug. 5, before firefighters managed to stop its progress, the San Bernardino County Fire Department said.
An evacuation order — meaning people must leave immediately — was issued for residents on the south side of and south of Ridge Line Drive; residents on the north side and north of Edgehill Road west to and including Beverly Drive; and east to Circle Road, the San Bernardino County Fire Department said. The order remained in effect overnight while crews continued working to contain the blaze.
Ridge Line Drive was reopened around 9 p.m.
An evacuation center was set up at Cajon High School, 1200 Hill Drive.
A person of interest was detained in connection to the fire Monday evening but was later released, said San Bernardino Police Sgt. Christopher Gray. Further information on how the fire started was not immediately available. Investigators Monday night were assessing the scene to determine the origin of the fire and how it started.
The fire was reported around 2:47 p.m. in the 3300 block of Beverly Drive. The initial report was 5 acres with a rapid rate of spread through light brush on a slope.
Crews fighting the Edgehill fire faced 109-degree temperatures when they arrived and were being challenged by access to homes in the hill’s narrow roads, said fire department spokesperson Eric Sherwin. The flames were swept to the east by 8-10 mph winds.
Sherwin said residents quickly moved out of the way of the blaze and the fire engines.
“Here on Little Mountain, it’s much like a mountain community,” Sherwin said, “with narrow roads that can present access issues for our engine companies. They know when fire starts they need to get out.”
Robert Christian, 26, was sitting in the living room of his I Street home when his 12-year-old brother Matthew Romero burst in and alerted him to the fire.
Their home sits at the base of Little Mountain, which was ablaze.
The family rushed outside and saw the flames moving swiftly from where they believed the fire started, at a power pole behind a home on Edgehill Road.
“It just flew east,” Christian said. “It just started going crazy.”
Leanna Romero, 16, said she heard a commotion near one of the first homes they believed burned.
“I heard them scream, ‘Go, go, go,” she said.
Palm, oak and pine trees, some 60 feet tall, are prevalent on the hill.
“I knew that once those trees went off, sparks were going to go everywhere,” Christian said.
He estimated that the blaze traveled at least a mile within the first hour.
The flames late Monday afternoon were most active on the southwest edge of the fire, Sherwin said.
On Vista Drive, firefighters poured water on the smoldering remains of one or two homes while on the other side, up the hill, the flames were stopped mere feet short of two residences.
Four homes had been damaged, with two of them destroyed, according to Fire Chief Martin Serna.
Forward progress of the fire was stopped by 5:40 p.m. and it was measured at 54 acres, according to the fire department.
“At this point, the fire is very much under control,” authorities said in an evening post on X.
Moisture heading over the region would bring a chance for storms on Tuesday, though it was unlikely any rainfall would drop below the San Bernardino Mountains, according to National Weather Service Meteorologist Sam Zuber.
“Unfortunately tomorrow is going to be hot, and a head advisory is in effect,” Zuber. “While there’s a slight chance for some sprinkles, its unlikely.”
The cause of the fire was under investigation.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
Originally published at Brian Rokos, Hunter Lee