Newest wildfire advances on thousands of California homes

Fox News reported on Wednesday that Eric Sherwin of the San Bernardino County Fire Department says almost 24 square miles of chaparral and grasslands have been turned to ashes, along with outbuildings and homes. Officials estimated that more than 34,000 homes and some 82,000 people were under evacuation orders.

Gov. Jerry Brown has meanwhile declared a state of emergency in the fire area, which allows for special resources and funds to be used for the firefight and recovery effort.

The Clayton fire in Clear Lake has consumed 4,000 acres and 175 structures and is only 40 percent contained, while the Chimney fire in San Luis Obispo County has destroyed 7,300 acres and 40 structures with 25 percent containment. Officials have also shut down Highway 15 in Cajon Pass, but that’s not the only wildfire burning in California. In a press conference Wednesday morning, San Bernadino County Sheriff John McMahon, said the evacuation area has grown further to the west, and additional people were being asked to leave the area. “We were extremely lucky”, he said.

Drought-stricken California has been hit with waves of wildfires this summer, fueled by dry conditions, heat and dead brush.

Blue Mountain Farms, a horse ranch in Phelan, was in the path of the fire about 60 miles east of Los Angeles – just as it was for another fire in the area a year ago. But Californians now endure what appears to be the new normal: year-round wildfires.

“From reports that we were hearing, possibly up to half didn’t leave”, said Lyn Sieliet, a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman.

More evacuations are possible, fire officials said Wednesday, as the fire pushed north into more populated high desert regions.

Before the Blue Cut Fire, 8,000 firefighters had already been battling eight large wildfires across the state.

One woman, Crystal Armstrong, told ABC 7 News that she escaped the flames, but lost her home. MORE: Full list of evacuations, road closures, animal shelters and school informationThose shutdowns came amid the several ongoing closures, including two sections of Interstate 15: northbound from Interstate 215 at Kenwood Avenue, as well as the southbound 15 from Ranchero Road to the 215.

“I realized the fire was starting to get really bad when it became hard to breathe when I walked outside. I’m seeing outbuildings. I’m seeing houses”, he said. “They cause trouble”, she said. Both firefighters were taken to a local hospital, where they were treated and released and are now back on the fire line defending structures. In recent days, fast-moving wildfires have raced into mountain towns and even whole cities, blackening more than 300,000 acres and destroying hundreds of homes and structures.

The sky over some parts of San Bernardino County were thick with smoke and ash, and the South Coast Air Quality Management District issued a smoke advisory for San Bernardino County on Tuesday afternoon.