Kids evacuated from summer camps due to fire

A 50-acre timber fire is growing in the San Bernardino Mountains, where authorities are evacuating about 180 people from five camps in the Barton Flats area, fire and sheriff’s officials said. The blaze was reported at 3:52 p.m. Wednesday, June 17, near Camp de Beneville Pines, 41750 Jenks Lake Road, in the Barton Flats area of the San Bernardino Mountains.

By 8 p.m., crews had cut fire lines around an estimated 15 percent of the fire.
About 120 kids were evacuated from Camp de Beneville Pines, the most populated of the camps in the area. “The camps are considered threatened,” said Battalion Chief Marc Peebles, of the San Bernardino County Fire Department; however, no buildings have been damaged, he emphasized.

Fifteen fire engine crews have been assigned to protect the camps, Peebles said.
As a precaution, an additional five specialized trucks are available to spray protective gel on any buildings that may become in imminent danger.

All of the camps border Jenks Lake Road, which has been closed. As darkness fell, sheriff’s Capt. Anthony Onodera said there are five camps in the evacuation area. He listed their names and their populations:

Camp de Benneville Pines
Ta Ta Pochon
Alpine Meadows
Conrad Chinnook
Camp Edwards
BARTON FLATS

There were no immediate plans to extend the evacuation beyond those five camps and the fewer than 200 people they contained. The reason: the summer season has not quite begun there and the camps are largely empty.

“Two weeks from now, we’d have 2,000 people in the Barton Flats organizational camps,” said San Bernardino National Forest spokesman John Miller.

The fire is apt to continue for at least the rest of the week. As the flames headed up into the San Gorgonio Wilderness, fire officials confirmed the fight is likely to continue for a few days.

“It’s in timber,” Miller said. “The heavier fuels are drier than they have been in years.”
The fire is headed up into steep, dangerous, roadless terrain. As a result, four water-dropping helicopters and five air tankers were leading the fight.

“We’re struggling with the aircraft due to downdrafts,” Miller said late in the day.
The fight was scheduled to continue throughout the night on the ground and in the air. Aircraft capable of fighting fire at night were scheduled to continue the airborne effort.