Yucaipa Fire Latest To Force Evacuations Out West

Yucaipa Fire Latest To Force Evacuations Out West, Triple-digit temperatures aided a wildfire in Redlands, California that quickly spread to Yucaipa, where it came dangerously close to a line of homes and forced evacuations for a short time on Friday.

The brush fire is believed to have been started on a hillside, where it quickly burned through at least 200 acres. Luckily, firefighters and aerial crews were able to get a handle on the blaze before it did major damage, although there was one report of partial damage to a home. No injuries have been reported; more than 100 homes were evacuated. Fire officials say the worst of the blaze is out, but there are still several hot spots.

High temperatures and extremely dry weather have worked together to create the perfect conditions for wildfires in western states; the Yucaipa fire is the latest in a string of them, starting last week with Colorado. The massive West Fork fire began as three separate lightning-struck areas that merged, and eventually burned through over 75,000 acres. A few days later, a fire in Jefferson County destroyed at least one home in its path. Fire officials say that one may have been started with fireworks.

“Talking with the homeowners they’ve indicated that there were fireworks in the area … it will be part of our investigation,” said Jefferson County Sheriff spokesperson Jackie Kelly.

Temperatures in California have skyrocketed this week, leading to heat warnings. Officials say it was at least 100 degrees when the Yucaipa fire started.