Cottonwood Fire Burns, Heat a Concern

Idyllwild (myFOXla.com) - The Cottonwood Fire between Hemet and Idyllwild was considered 75 percent contained this morning, as firefighters faced another day of triple-digit heat.

"The main things in morning briefing were public safety and firefighter safety," Cottonwood Fire incident command spokesman Marc Peebles said today. Roughly 2,400 acres have burned so far.

Twisting state Highway 74 between Mountain Center and Hemet was reopened today. "We really want to encourage motorists to exercise caution on the 74," he said. "They need to watch for fire crews and heavy equipment.

"For the firefighters, we're looking at temperatures over 100 degrees again today, with humidity levels of 3 to 5 percent," Peebles said. "We really want them to stay hydrated, drink plenty of water, and rest when necessary."

Five firefighters had suffered heat-related illness or injury as of this morning, Peebles said. All of them were treated at local hospitals and released. At least two of them required overnight treatment, Peebles said.

"It can get very hot when they're cutting fire line or doing hose lays," said Peebles, whose experience as a mountain division battalion chief in San Bernardino County includes the devastating firestorms of 2003 and 2007. "They have to deal with heat contained in the gear they're wearing, heat generated by exertion, ambient heat from the weather, and heat generated by the fire."

More than 750 firefighters assigned to the Cottonwood Fire have their work cut out today, as Forest Service officials said this morning they expect full containment by Monday. Suppression costs of the fire were estimated at $1.5 million as of 8 a.m. today.

Authorities re-opened state Route 74 to all travelers at 6 a.m. today, after the fire burned hot and fierce nearby on Saturday and delayed re-opening of the road overnight. The Cottonwood Fire earlier burned on both sides of the road and damaged guard rails. The road had been closed from Borco Street in Valle Vista to state Route 243 in Mountain Center for two days.

Firefighting aircraft, including two tanker planes and three helicopters, were expected to resume water and retardant drops this morning.

The fire, which started shortly after 5 p.m. Thursday about 10 miles east of Hemet, may be fully contained sometime Monday, fire officials said.

The dry conditions and high temperatures that have helped the fire grow are not expected to abate much, if any, today. Forecasters predict 100-degree- plus temperatures again across much of the Inland Empire.

No evacuations orders were in force today. Homes in Bee Canyon and on Willowbrook Road were considered at risk on Thursday and Friday.

The fire may have been sparked by a transformer problem or a downed electrical line about a quarter-mile east of Bee Canyon, but the cause was still under investigation.

Winds have been light, but the onshore flow could increase to 10-20 mph this afternoon.

The main head of the fire was burning about 20 miles east of Idyllwild. The command post and base camp for the Cottonwood Fire is in Garner Valley, east of Lake Hemet on state Route 74.