7/11/18 7:00 pm LATEST UPDATE
Highway 38 is open in both directions
Fire is holding at 1348 Acres
Containment is at 24%
4 Heat Related Injuries
Aircraft and Crews still working the fire and CalTrans is still clearing mudslides. Drive with Caution.
7/9/18 11:00 am, LATEST UPDATE:
Updates to the Valley Fire Closure:
Highway 38 is closed from Bryant Avenue to Sugar Pine Circle in Angelus Oaks.
Highway 38 Between Lake Williams Drive and Angelus Oaks is open, however access will only be through Big Bear.
There will be no public access between Valley of the Falls Drive and Angelus Oaks on Hwy 38 due to the mudslides and fire activity along Highway 38.
Mountain Home and Forest Falls evacuations have been lifted, however only residents with ID and proof of residency will be allowed through the road closure.
All hiking trails accessing the San Gorgonio Wilderness Area are closed.
Quick Links:
– Southern California Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) current Air Quality can be found on the AirNow.govwebsite.
Current Situation: Several thunderstorms passed through the Valley Fire area, resulting in some flooding and debris flows along Valley of The Falls Drive and Highway 38. However, the higher elevations of the fire have not seen significant rainfall and continue to burn. The fire grew slightly yesterday to 1,341 acres with 13 percent containment. The fire is moving north and east, higher into San Gorgonio Wilderness. Firefighting resources will continuing to arrive on the fire today, including specialized Hot Shot crews, a 20-person hand crew who are able to work in steep, remote terrain with limited support.
Evacuations: The mandatory evacuation order has been lifted for the Forest Falls Community, however the area is only open to residents. ID and proof of residency will be required at the road closure at Hwy 38 and Bryant Ave.
Evacuation Center: An evacuation center has been opened at Inland Leaders Charter School, 12375 California Street, Yucaipa CA 93299.
Pets may be taken to the Devore Animal Shelter. 19777 Shelter Way, San Bernardino. Residents of Forest Falls who were not able to evacuate their animals may contact the Devore Animal Shelter at 800-472-5609. The animal shelter will coordinate care and feeding, or relocating animals to the animal shelter.
Recreation Closures: Mill Creek Visitor Center, and all trails accessing San Gorgonio Wilderness.
Reopened Recreation Areas: All Forest Service / California Land Management (CLM) campgrounds located along the Highway 38 corridor in the Jenks Lake / Barton Flats area. Additionally, most other organizational camps will be reopened. Please contact individual camps to confirm their status.
Roads Closures: Highway 38 from Bryant Street (Yucaipa) to Sugar Pine Circle (Angelus Oak) is closed
Personnel: There are currently 612 personnel actively fight this fire, including 39 engines, 14 crews, 5 water-tender, 2 dozers, and 9 helicopters. Southern California Incident Management Team 2 is in command of the fire.
Fire Works: Fireworks are always prohibited on National Forests!
Drones / Aircraft: Drones pose a serious risk to firefighting and can cause air operations to cease. When drones interfere with firefighting efforts, a wildfire has the potential to grow larger and cause more damage. A FAA Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) may be in effect and any private aircraft or drone that violates the TFR could face serious criminal charges. Even without a TFR, anyone who hampers firefighting efforts could face charges as well. For more information on drones the public can visit the FAA’s website at www.KnowBeforeYouFly.org. “If you fly, we can’t!” The Federal Aviation Administration is issued Temporary Flight Restrictionsover the Valley Fire. Additional information on Drone Safety and aviation can be found on the FAA website.
7/8/18 8:00 am, LATEST UPDATE:
Courtesy of CalFire Twitter and US Forest Service critical updates page.
Incident Overview
View the Most Recent Map for the Valley Fire (pdf) – July 7, 2018 AM
A Smoke Advisory (pdf) has been issued by the Southern California Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD). Current Air Quality can be found on the AirNow.gov website.Current Situation: Several thunderstorms passed through the Valley Fire burn area yesterday, 7/6/18, resulting in some flooding and debris flows along Valley of The Falls Drive and Highway 38. However, the higher elevations of the fire did not seen significant rainfall, and continued to burn overnight. The fire has grown to 1,139 acres in size, with 5 percent containment. The fire is still moving north and east, higher into the San Gorgonio Wilderness Area., Firefighting resources will continuing to arrive on the fire today.Mandatory evacuations: The Forest Falls Community east of Highway 38 has been evacuated. Structure protection and security are in place if the fire moves toward the community however there has been no structures damaged or destroyed as a result of the Valley Fire.
Evacuation Center: Inland Leaders Charter School-12375 California Street, Yucaipa CA 93299. Pets may be taken to the Devore Animal Shelter. 19777 Shelter Way, San Bernardino
Recreation Closures: Momeyer Trail, Vivian Creek Trail, San Bernardino Peak Trail & Big Falls Picnic Area., as well as a large list of campgrounds and day-use areas located along the Highway 38 corridor. A full list of Closed Recreation Sites is available at the San Bernardino National Forest website.
Roads Closures: Highway 38 from Bryant Street (Yucaipa) to Lake Williams Drive (South of Big Bear) closed.
Other closures:
The following are closed due to the Valley Fire that occurred on July 6, 2018.
Temporary Trail Closures:
Vivian Creek
Momyer
San Bernardino Peak
Big Falls
Forsee Creek
South Fork
Aspen Grove
Fish Creek
Lost Creek
Temporary Picnic Area Closures:
Big Falls
Therman Flats
Jenks Lake
Temporary Family Campground Closures:
Barton Flats
San Gorgonio
South Fork
Heart Bar
Temporary Group Campground Closures:
Oso/Lobo
Skyline
Heart Bar Equestrian
Wildhorse Equestrian
Coon Creek Cabin
Council
Temporary Yellow Post Sites Closures:
Coon Creek
Thomas Hunting Grounds
Clark’s Ranch
Personnel: There are currently 504 personnel actively fight this fire including 39 Engines, 9 Crews, 5 Water-tender,2 Dozers, 9 Helicopters. Southern California Incident Management Team 2 taken command of the fire as of 6 PM tonight. Firefighting resources will continue to arrive on the fire over the coming days.
Fire Works: Fireworks are always prohibited on National Forests!
Drones: Drones pose a serious risk to firefighting and can cause air operations to cease. When drones interfere with firefighting efforts, a wildfire has the potential to grow larger and cause more damage. A FAA Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) may be in effect and any private aircraft or drone that violates the TFR could face serious criminal charges. Even without a TFR, anyone who hampers firefighting efforts could face charges as well. For more information on drones the public can visit the FAA’s website at www.KnowBeforeYouFly.org. “If you fly, we can’t!”
7/6/18
LATEST UPDATE FROM US FOREST SERVICE:
SAN BERNARDINO, California, July 6, 2018 –Firefighters from multiple agencies battled record high
temperatures and dry conditions in their attempts to control several brush fires on the San Bernardino
National Forest.
The Valley Fire quickly grew to 1000 acres as of 8:00 PM after starting at 1:42 in the afternoon. US
Forest Service, CAL FIRE, San Bernardino County Fire and San Bernardino County Sheriffs are in
Unified Command, working together to suppress the Valley Fire. Mandatory evacuation orders were
issued for the community of Forest Falls by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s office. Structure
protection and security are in place if winds push the fire closer to the community. An emergency shelter
for displaced residents opened at the Inland Leaders Charter School, 12375 California Street in Yucaipa.
Highway 38 is closed to all traffic from Bryant Street in Yucaipa, to Lake Williams Drive near Big Bear.
Several trailheads and recreation sites in the Forest Falls have been closed. A specialized Incident
Management Team has been requested by the Forest Service to manage this fire.
Quick Fire Facts: Valley Fire
Fire Start Date: July 6, 2018
Fire Report Time: 1:42 PM
Location: Valley of the Falls Drive, Highway 38,
Acres: 1000 acres,
Fire Cause: Under Investigation
Fire Fighters Assigned: 500
Road Closures: Hwy 38 from Bryant Street to Lake Williams Drive
Evacuations: Community of Forest Falls, including Organization Camps.
Weather: Near record high temperatures, low humidity.
Terrain: Steep, inaccessible mountainsides.
Cooperating Agencies: CAL FIRE, San Bernardino County Fire, San Bernardino County Sheriffs, CHP
Original Story and Previous Video
At 1:42 p.m. a brush fire was reported near the Y intersection of Highway 38 and Valley of the Falls Drive. The fire got out of control being wind-driven, and it raced uphill quickly growing to over a hundred acres. (Per US Forest Service on Twitter) the smoke header was visible from most Mountain communities and most of the Inland Empire.
Mandatory evacuations were issued for the communities of Forest Falls and Forest Home. Initially residents were advised to shelter in place however that was changed to a full evacuation.
Highway 38 reminds closed from Bryant Road in Yucaipa to Angelus Oaks.
Aircraft and ground Crews were on the fire since the beginning. Retardant drops continued until 7pm and additional ground crews are being deployed for a total of 500 firefighters.
MountainReporter.com will be broadcasting live video and real-time reports from the scene as cell signal permits. For more information visit the RimFire group and the RimFire Official group on Facebook.
From CalFire Twitter
#ValleyFire update. Hwy 38 x Valley of the Falls, Forest Falls. 1000 acres, 0% containment. Rapid Rate of Spread. 500 firefighters onscene. 500 homes threatened. Evacuation Orders in place for the Forest Falls Valley. Unified Command – #CALFIREBDU @SanBernardinoNF @SBCOUNTYFIRE @sbcountysheriff
Scott Limpus reporting from the bottom of the 38 at 17:15 hours
