Fire crews in the Morongo Basin had a busy weekend battling four separate fires.
About 4:30 afternoon Friday (February 19), fire crews were called to the 55200 block of Mi Casa Blvd in Johnson Valley. Initial reports said the resident was trying to put out the fire, and later reports that ammunition could be heard going off inside. Crews arrived to find a single-story home well involved with a heavy fire load and initiated a defensive fire attack. During the firefight, power lines fell, causing a life hazard alert and subsequent request for SoCal Edison service crews. Unstable interior structural conditions made overhaul difficult. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
A man was seriously injured in an early-morning fire in Wonder Valley Saturday (February 20). Firefighters were called to the blaze in the 84500 block of Amboy Road in Wonder Valley just before 3 a.m. where they found a single-wide mobile home on fire. A 64-year-old man suffered burns in the blaze and was transported by Morongo Basin Ambulance to Hi-Desert Medical Center, where he was then flown by helicopter to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center for treatment of his burns. The fire is still being investigated.
A vegetation fire broke out in Joshua Tree about 4:40 Sunday afternoon (February 21). A passer-by reported that bushes were on fire in the area of Twentynine Palms Highway and Memorial Drive in Joshua Tree. The flames were estimated to be about 10 feet high. Firefighters found a small fire burning in a hedge of mostly dead oleander on the eastern edge of the Mentalphysics Center and brought the burn under control within minutes, with no threat to nearby properties. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, although witnesses reported seeing homeless people and off-road motorcycles in the area earlier in the day.
And Morongo Valley firefighters were called to assist fire crews from Riverside County at a small vegetation fire near Desert Hot Springs at 6:40 Sunday evening. Winds were fanning the fire, off Indian Canyon, east of Highway 62, causing flames three to five feet high. Fire crews had the blaze out in about 30 minutes.
San Bernardino County Fire Department reminds residents and visitors that fire season lasts year-round and to use fire wisely and responsibly. For additional information about fire permitting or burn proclamations please visit the County Fire website at www.sbcfire.org
