A wildfire is burning out of control in Southern California's San Bernardino County, having blazed through well over 7,000 acres of land since it sparked around noon on Sunday Aug. 7, between Pilot Rock Ridge and State Hwy 173 in Hesperia, Calif.

According to the most recent update from InciWeb, the Pilot Fire measured in at 7,736 acres as of Tuesday Aug. 9 at approximately 10:00 p.m. PST. Over 1,000 firemen, fire officials and other related personnel have been dispatched to battle the blaze, which is currently only six percent contained.

While the official incident description refers to this fast-spreading inferno as "Wildfire On The San Bernardino National Forest," authorities have pinpointed the location of the fire as "near Hesperia, Deer Lodge ark, Lake Arrowhead and Silverwood Lake Recreation Area."

FIREFIGHTING EFFORTS & FUNDING

There are currently 1,475 firefighting personnel assigned to battle the Pilot blaze. Included among the resources allocated to the wildfire fight at this time are 98 fire engines, 14 water tenders, one helicopter, 41 hand crews and 14 dozers.

Responding to this wildfire situation are a number of cooperating agencies. They include: the California Highway Patrol; California Office of Emergency Services; San Bernardino County Office of Emergency Service; Bureau of Land Management; CALTRANS; San Bernardino County Animal Control; American Red Cross; and Southern California Edison.

Press-Enterprise reports that the United States Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has already authorized the use of federal funds to aid firefighters in their efforts against the Pilot wildfire.

According to FEMA, California authorities submitted on Monday a request for a Fire Management Assistance Grant declaration for the Pilot Fire. The federal agency issued a statement upon immediate approval of Monday's request, detailing its determination that this fire has potential to cause destruction to such an extent that it would constitute a major disaster.

"At the time of the request, the fire was threatening 750 homes in and around the communities of Hesperia, Deer Park Lodge, and Summit Valley," the statement read.

According to a San Bernardino county fire spokesperson, the federal fire management grant will cover 75 percent of the cost to fight (single or cumulative) fires relating to the Pilot Fire, through federally-allocated dollars. The remaining 25 percent of the firefighting cost will be paid by state agencies.

PILOT FIRE UPDATES

Please check back with us at LatinPost.com in the coming days for out continued coverage on the Pilot wildfire. We will be sure to make any and all new information available to our readers as soon as it becomes public.