Monday afternoon firefighters were dispatched to a reported vegetation fire in the area of Highway 18 & Lower Waterman Canyon Road in North San Bernardino. Due to the proximity of San Bernardino National Forest land a full response including ground and air resources were started from from the United States Forest Service (USFS).
Crews arrived on scene to find one acre in medium fuels burning at a moderate rate of spread. The fire was burning in a northerly direction uphill towards the intersection of Lower Waterman Canyon & Highway 18. Due to the fire being adjacent to Highway 18, it was shut down from Crestline to 40th street. Due to the fire being adjacent to USFS land, both agencies entered unified command to manage the wildfire.
Firefighters from the ground and air worked on perimeter control with the goal of keeping the fire south of Highway 18. The fire quickly grew to 10 acres and briefly spotted across Highway 18. Additional resources were requested to assist with perimeter control, line construction and defense of parked vehicles and infrastructure.
By 6PM the forward rate of spread had been stopped at 24.5 acres. Firefighters remained on-scene throughout the night working on mop-up and line containment construction. Firefighters today will continue to patrol the fire and work any hot spots. The cause and origin of the fire is under investigation by #SBCoFD Fire Investigators. One firefighter was transported to a local hospital with heat related illness.
San Bernardino County Fire responded with eight Engines, two Water tenders, three Chief Officers & two Fire Investigators. USFS San Bernardino National Forest sent a full ground and air response. Cal-Fire, San Manuel Fire, Rancho Cucamonga Fire & Rialto Fire also assisted. At the height of the fire more than 80 firefighters worked the incident.
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Incident – Vegetation Fire
Date / Time – 8/10/21
Location – Area of Highway 18 & Lower Waterman Canyon road, San Bernardino.
Contact – Mike McClintock, Battalion Chief / PIO, mmcclintock@sbcfire.org