Firefighters working on the 17,400-acre Lake Fire are optimistic; only 100 acres were added to the burn area Monday, and it’s now 30 percent contained. “The fire’s progressed actually very slowly. It hasn’t moved that much.” U.S. Forest Service Public Information Officer Chon Bribiescas explained why residents shouldn’t panic about the fire. “For the fire to actually come down and become a threat to this community, there would have to be a lot of things that would line up right now and we just don’t see it happening.” The fire has been burning in dense forests that that haven’t burned in a century and that are filled with trees killed by bark beetles.
Many Morongo Basin residents saw a dark plume of black smoke Monday afternoon, but Bribiescas was not concerned, saying it was to be expected because the fire had just encountered a large timber area full of dead trees. But the fire is running out of dense woodland to burn. “Now that the fire has traveled over to the east end of our mountain range, it’s getting into a more desert type of terrain, which means that the spacing of the trees now is much greater, and the species of tree is also starting to change.” Bribiescas wants to reassure residents that even though the fire is just six to eight miles from Morongo Valley and Pioneertown, these communities are in no immediate danger. “Our firefighters, whether they be San Bernardino County, CalFire, or Forest Service, we are good at what we do.” And finally, Bribiescas had a final piece of advice for residents. “Don’t panic.”
