A potentially dangerous brush fire broke out about 2:30 p.m. in the Joshua Tree Highlands area west of Quail Springs Road near Anaconda Drive Monday. A 9-1-1 call from a resident there brought fast-acting county, CalFire, and National Park fire crews who put out the 4.4-acre fire. County Fire Battalion Chief Mike McClintock said the flames bumped up against a detached garage, but firefighters were able to save the garage and the neighborhood. McClintock added that heat and winds have dried out the superbloom vegetation and grasses in San Bernardino County, increasing the fire danger posed by the high volume of dead vegetation. Hotter, drier conditions in the region have led the County Fire Department and Cal Fire to suspend all burn permits. These burn suspensions ban all residential outdoor fires, including camp fires and burning of landscape debris such as branches and leaves. Calfire is investigating the cause of the fire.
