As firefighters struggle to save thousands of homes threatened by the Blue Cut Fire in the San Bernardino Mountains, crews from around the state are arriving to help out. More than 1,500 fire personnel are already there.
The blaze has burned more than 31,000 acres, or nearly 50 square miles, and is 4 percent contained, according to fire managers. More than 32,000 structures are threatened and an undetermined number of homes have been destroyed by the fire, which started Tuesday morning and grew amid scorching, dry conditions.
And at the command post at Glen Helen Regional Park in Devore, crews spent Wednesday preparing the camp for firefighters who will live there during their off time.
Cal Fire spokesman Jeff LaRusso came to this fire from neighboring Riverside County.
“The biggest challenge is obviously just the fact that we have a large fire being pushed the way it's being pushed, and it's spreading in different directions," LaRusso said. "It's not a fact of not being able to get firefighters in there. It's just the fact that Mother Nature is battling us and you know, it's very hard to beat Mother Nature.”