Firefighters say the wildfire burning in the rugged San Jacinto mountain range in Southern California some 90 miles east of Los Angeles, known as the Silver Fire, is one of the fastest moving they’ve seen in 50 years.
It started Wednesday and spread to 25 square miles, or 16,000 acres, Friday morning, but fire officials announced it was 25 percent contained.
More than 1,500 people have been forced to evacuate. Firefighters expected to contain more of the fire Friday, but stronger winds were also expected to make the fire more unpredictable, CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy reported on “CBS This Morning” Friday.
With rugged terrain, dry conditions and steady winds, crews have had to fight the fire with fire, Tracy reports. They have intentionally lit massive backfires on hillsides to create larger containment lines.
Late Thursday night, the blaze lit up the sky as firefighters struggled to get it under control, CBS News correspondent Bigad Shaban reports from Snow Creek, Calif. “This fire – burning not under Santa Ana conditions but burning under a west wind – was one of the most quickly spreading, rapidly spreading, dangerous fires that I’ve seen,” Riverside County Fire Chief John Hawkins said.
From CBS News: https://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57597732/southern-californias-silver-wildfire-one-of-states-fastest-moving-in-50-years/