Sheep Fire in Southern California Prompts Officials to Go Door-To-Door for Mandatory Evacuations; Fire Burned 990 Acres

The Sheep Fire in Southern California has mandatory evacuations issued in place after the wildfire expanded steadily in Southern California Angeles National Forest on Sunday.

CNN Weather reported that the Sheep Fire grew from 35 acres on Sunday morning to 775 acres by afternoon, with only five percent of the fire contained.

The latest fire update noted that law enforcement officials are going door-to-door with a mandatory evacuation for Desert Front Road and Wild Horse Canyon.

The incident overview added that Wrightwood is under an evacuation warning, with a road closure from Hwy 138 to Lone Pine.

Sheep Fire Burning in Southern California

In the San Gabriel Mountains, the wildfire has ravaged at least 990 acres. Part of the town of Wrightwood is under mandatory evacuation as hot and windy weather triggered the fire, according to a San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

An evacuation center was installed at Serrano High School at 9292 Sheep Creek Road in Phelan while the Red Cross was on the scene.

Dana Dierkes, an Angeles National Forest spokeswoman, said that embers blew from the burning area toward the unlit brush to the north as the wind picked up.

Dierkes added that it lighted new fires in front of the path of the blaze. She said that they have erratic and strong blowing north-east winds.

San Bernardino County Fire Department said by the afternoon that it was evacuating residents living along Desert Front. At the time, Wrightwood residents were warned that they might have to evacuate too.

Chris Prater, a firefighter and spokesman for the San Bernardino County Fire Department, said that firefighters had not been able to get out in front of the fire before it took off in the afternoon. Prater added that there were a lot of perimeters that had not been secured yet.

More than 200 firefighters will be working through the night to contain the wildfire, according to a CBS News report.

Earlier on Sunday, there were no structures immediately threatened, and no mandatory evacuations were in place.

Meanwhile, the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Wildfires in the Southwest

Federal forecasters projected a "dangerous heat" in the Southwest, with New Mexico and Arizona also fighting fires days before the summer solstice.

NBC News noted that at least three new wildfires burned on Sunday in Southern California, with San Bernandino County's Sheep Fire burning acres and prompting evacuations.

Los Angeles County's San Gabriel Mountains' Fish Fire burned about 25 acres on Sunday. It was discovered in two different places. Officials said in a statement that horse stables in the nearby city of Azusa were evacuated.

Meanwhile, the Wala Fire in Oceanside, California was contained by firefighters by late afternoon, according to local police. Wala Fire also triggered evacuations for one neighborhood.

National Weather Service said in a Sunday forecast that dangerous heat will continue across the Southwest.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

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