BANNING, Calif. (AP)– Countless people were under evacuation orders Sunday after a wildfire in mountains east of Los Angeles exploded in size as crews battled flames in triple-digit heat.
The fire in Riverside County consumed more than 31 square miles of dry brush and timber, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Security.
There was zero containment at midday. The cause was under examination.
Authorities allowed flames to add the side of Mount San Gorgonio, an 11,000- foot (3,350- meter) peak, due to the fact that it wasn’t safe to let teams operate in such steep, rugged surface, stated Lisa Cox, a spokesperson for the U.S. Forest Service.
” We don’t wish to put firefighters in a da