3 Injured in Calif. Wildfire; Homes Burn to Ground as Hundreds Flee

(NECN/NBC News: Tena Ezzeddine) - A wildfire is burning out of control in the mountains near Banning, Calif., just west of Palm Springs.

The fire has quickly charred some 6,000 acres, injuring two fire fighters and a resident.

Fifteen structures have been destroyed.

This fire started at only a few thousand acres, but quickly grew to thousands within a few hours

Fire fighters knew at that point they had a demon on their hands

Home owners watched as everything they owned burned, some even tried to use garden hoses to fight the flames, giving those who watched a level of the desperation here.

With night fall, fire fighters tried to level the playing field with the help of Mother Nature in the form of cooler temperatures.

The hope is that progress made in the overnight will continue throughout the day.

Now there have been some new evacuation orders Thursday.

A mandatory evacuation order is now in place for portions of Cabazon as well as some of the neighboring areas, affecting more than 1,800 people.

John Hawkins of California Forestry Service said, "We're trying everything we can to get containment on the fire edge, to save people and to protect property."

The winds are picking up speed, but the temperatures seem to have helped in this fire fight overnight.

The containment is at zero percent. There is still a lot of work to be done and fire fighters know there is long fight ahead.

Copyright NECNMIGR - NECN
Contact Us