UPDATE: On Tuesday, Sep. 17 at 2:00pm the Evacuation Order for Wrightwood has been downgraded to an Evacuation Warning. Wrightwood area is open to residents only.
This morning’s briefing from Unified Command is reporting that the Bridge Fire has burned 54,795 acres and is now 25% contained. There are now three injuries reported, one Fire personnel and two civilians per SBC Sheriff. There are 2,727 personnel on the fire. 13 structures have been damaged, and 66 destroyed. The cause is still under investigation. Firefighters continued to make progress and are continuing to secure containment lines. There have been a few aircraft over the fire this morning. Focus is still on the northwest portion of the fire, which remains the most active. There was a small 1-acre slop-over from a rolling log on Fenner Saddle Road over the night.
In Wrightwood, “safety hazards remain while firefighters continue mop-up operations and falling trees. Residents remain under an evacuation order until these hazards are cleared for the public and utilities are restored.” To the northeast, firefighters are working to prevent the fire from advancing towards Lytle Creek from Wright Mountain. They are constructing dozer lines and direct attack when they can.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department announced as of 9/16/24, there are 26 mobile field deputies and 30 members of the National Guard patrolling the evacuated areas. They also stated that 17 people had been arrested in the Bridge Fire patrol areas; one traffic-related citation for entering an evacuation order road closure; two failure to yield arrests after entering an evacuation road closure; 8 drug-related arrests, including illegal marijuana cultivation; and three misdemeanor arrests and three warrant arrests during proactive patrols.
Highway 2 is still closed. However, Highway 138 appears to be open. Multiple eyewitnesses have stated the hard closure barricades have been removed, and there is no law enforcement stopping drivers. While Inceweb/Watch Duty is still reporting the Highway 138 closure, the CalTrans website does not indicate there are any closures on Highway 138.
Snowline Schools issued the following statement yesterday: “Given the current circumstances, all Snowline schools will remain closed through Wednesday, 9/18/24. We will provide an update on Wednesday afternoon regarding school operations for Thursday and Friday.”
