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Town's existence imperiled
Raging fires destroy 150 mountain homes
Bryan Patrick / Sacramento Bee Los Angeles County firefighters attempt to hold the line while dozens of homes catch fire in the town of Running Springs on Tuesday.
Dana Rene Bowler / Star staff Firefighters get ready to fight the Malibu fire near an apartment complex in the 23300 block of Pacific Coast Highway. Five homes were destroyed and others damaged in the fire, which started Sunday morning near Malibu Canyon Road.
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Dana Rene Bowler / Star staff As flames burn on the hillside behind him, Henry Pope comforts his dog Tobey across from his apartment in the 22300 block of Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. The fire, which started early Sunday morning, had burned 2,200 acres and was reported 10 percent contained as of late Sunday. Firefighters expect to battle the blaze all week.
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RUNNING SPRINGS — In the darkness, you feel surrounded.
Trees explode, giving off jarring echoes. The heat bears down from every direction, the moon is shrouded in an orange glow. With each gust of wind, another house can be devoured.
This is the battle to save Running Springs. It began Monday morning with 30 local firefighters trying to save their community, and continued through Tuesday night.
With all of the fury of a hurricane, a wild brush fire descended on this isolated mountain village before dawn Monday, forcing the evacuation of all residents.
With the fire growing in intensity Monday night and into Tuesday morning, firefighters were left wondering if they could save the town.
"It's always heart-wrenching to lose homes," the town's fire chief, Bill Smith, said Tuesday, 30 hours into the firefight. "But when our firefighters are watching the homes of their neighbors and their friends go up, it's just hellish."
By Tuesday morning, as many as 150 homes had been destroyed in this San Bernardino County town of 5,100 residents. Several more homes were gutted later throughout the day, many from fires started by embers that rained down from ravines hundreds of feet away.
And as the sun began to set Tuesday, fire officials were handed another difficult challenge. The fire had begun surrounding the town from the north and south. Officials were worried the fire might join another blaze 10 miles to the east that had consumed 168 homes near Lake Arrowhead.
And in the middle of it all, firefighters readily accepted the notion that Running Springs might not survive another night.
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