Fire fighters from several Morongo Basin stations have been sent to help fight fires currently burning in Southern California. Joshua Tree and Morongo Valley fire stations have each sent a brush engine and crew to join the 1,400 fire fighters fighting the Silver fire near Banning, which as of Friday was at 16,000 acres and 25 percent contained. The Yucca Valley fire station sent a brush engine to a wildfire in Wrightwood, called the Sharp fire, which started about noon on Thursday in the Angeles National Forest. The Yucca Mesa fire station sent a gel task force and the Wonder Valley fire station sent a utility engine to the Sharp fire. The gel task force sprays gel onto houses and structures to protect them from fires. About 300 firefighters are battling the Sharp fire, which was about 100 acres Friday morning, in steep, inaccessible terrain Friday near Wrightwood, where dozens of homes had been evacuated. Smoke from the fire has been thick at times locally, depending on wind direction. If you see or smell smoke in the air where you are, be cautious and use common sense to protect your family’s health.
