Brush fire near Big Bear spreads to 917 acres as evacuation orders expand
BIG BEAR, Calif. (KABC) -- Evacuations remained in effect near Big Bear Tuesday as crews continued to battle a brush fire that spread to more than 900 acres.
The blaze, located north of Highway 38 in the Barton Flats area, has burned about 917 acres and is 2% contained as of late Tuesday. Firefighters are attacking the flames from the air and the ground to keep the fire from jumping the ridgeline and prevent it from reaching Big Bear.
The Radford Fire was first spotted around 2 p.m. Monday in an area between the ski resorts Snow Summit and Bear Mountain.
The Snow Summit Ski Resort is helping firefighters with their equipment to keep the fire from jumping over that ridge.
"We're actively monitoring the situation. We are having our staff on site to monitor and use our snow-making infrastructure as needed for suppression and containment," said Justin Kanton with Snow Summit.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department ordered evacuations for Glass Road to South Fork River Road in the Seven Oaks area.
On Tuesday, another evacuation order was issued for residents between Beverly Lane and Castlerock as well as Summit Boulevard East to Club View and Evergreen Drive South.
An evacuation warning was issued for areas from Club View to Angels Camp from Vine to Lassen; and for Summit Boulevard to McAllister Road to Highway 18 between Fox Farm and Evergreen.
A Red Cross evacuation center was established at Big Bear High School on Maple Lane for affected residents.
Bear Valley Unified schools, excluding Fallsvale School, will be closed Wednesday due to the blaze, school officials announced.
Caltrans says State Route 38 is closed in both directions from Mill Creek Road to Lakewood Road, according to the San Bernardino National Forest.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
MORE | Everything to know about red flame retardant dropped during wildfires
