Explosive Brush Fire In The Cajon Pass Closes Main Freeway To Las Vegas

A fast-growing brush fire that broke out around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday morning in the Cajon Pass has already scorched more than 2,500 acres in the San Bernardino National Forest area.

Orange skies in Victorville. (Photo courtesy of Melissa Ruiz)
The Blue Cut Fire, as it has been dubbed, is "showing extreme fire behavior," according to a tweet from the California Interagency Incident Management Team. Interstate 15, the main highway to Las Vegas, is closed from Oak Hills to Devore, and Highway 138 is closed from Highway 2 to Summit Valley Road. Traffic for the 15 is being diverted through Crestline.

Mandatory evacuations have been ordered for the Lytle Canyon area, according to a representative from the San Bernardino County Fire Department.

Keep up with LAist.

If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less.

Subscribe

The city of Wrightwood is also under a voluntary evacuation, according to the San Bernardino Sun.

Temperatures of up to 100 degrees, with wind gusts of up to 30 miles per hour have been forecast for area today, according to KTLA.

Firefighters from the U.S. Forest Service and the San Bernardino County Fire Department are leading the command, and units from the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department are also on hand.

Emergency shelters have been been set up in Fontanta (at the Jessie Turner Community Center at 15556 Summit Avenue, Fontana) and in Hesperia (at Sultana High School, 17311 Sultana Street, Hesperia), according to KPCC.

The fire is currently burning towards Wrightwood, according to the Twin Peaks Sheriff's Station.

The Blue Cut fire is burning near the site of last year's North fire, which jumped the 15 Freeway and burned at least 44 cars.

Update [4:30 p.m.]: The fire now covers more than 5,500 acres, and at least two firefighters have been injured, according to CBS. A mandatory evacuation for the entire community of Wrightwood has been issued.