PALM TREE BLAZE COULD BE SEEN FOR MILES IN TWENTYNINE PALMS MONDAY NIGHT

Flames from a Twentynine Palms tree fire could be seen from miles away Monday night. Fire Captain Matt Helmkamp said a couple of palm trees in the Blue Skies Mobile Home Park on Didsbury Drive caught on fire about 7:40 p.m. The fire started in the top of the trees, which were about 50 to 60 feet tall, and the flames reached about another 50 feet into the air. Helmkamp said a nearby mobile home was threatened by the flames, but firefighters were able to save it by spraying the walls and roof with water. The cause of the fire is unknown; Helmkamp said the trees appeared to be alive and healthy at the time of the blaze.