[UPDATED AT 12:00 noon Wednesday 6/24/15] The U.S. Forest Service reports good progress was made on the northeastern portion of the fire today, though the fire remained active and continued spotting to the east. Burning rolling material rolled into the headwaters of Little Morongo and Big Morongo Creeks, which is at the very eastern point of the fire. Aircraft dropped retardant on this area to halt the forward progress of these spot fires and fire crews will begin working these areas on the ground.
The southern portion of the fire did burn into the headwaters of the North Fork of Whitewater, and may continue to burn to the south. Fire spread is primarily through burning material rolling downhill and reigniting ground fuels, which burn back uphill. Hotshot crews will remain camped out along this area over the coming days.
Highway 38, the northern perimeter of the fire, remains closed. Forest and Fire Team Leadership re-evaluate the highway closure each evening. The decision to reopen the highway is dependent on how much firefighting equipment, including helicopters with buckets of water, need to work in the area. We ask that the public remains patient and help us keep our firefighters safe by respecting the highway closure.
For the latest official U.S. Forest Service information on the 'Lake Fire' burning in the San Bernardino Mountains near Highway 38 (including road closures, evacuations, smoke advisories, and outlook), click on this link:
http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4302/
