Firefighters hope cooler weather will aid their battle against 3 major Southern California fires

WRIGHTWOOD, Calif. — Firefighters battling three major wildfires in the mountains east of Los Angeles took advantage of cooler weather Wednesday as they slowly gained the upper hand, but not before dozens of homes were destroyed and thousands of people were forced to evacuate. No deaths have been reported, but at least a dozen people, mainly firefighters, have been treated for injuries, mostly heat-related, authorities said. A firefighter puts out a hot spot in a home near Lake Elsinore, Calif., on Wednesday. Zoe Meyers / AFP – Getty Images In the small community of Wrightwood, about 90 minutes outside Los Angeles, authorities implored residents to flee the exploding Bridge Fire, which has burned more than a dozen homes in the area. Resident Erin Arias said she was racing up the mountain when she got the order to leave and did, grabbing her passport and dog. “It’s absolutely scary,” Arias said, looking at the burned embers of her neighbor’s home. “We’re really lucky.” UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain said the fire moved extraordinarily fast across complex terrain, likely giving residents less time to evacuate than usual and surprising even seasoned fire officials. The Bridge Fire “had to go up mountain sides, burn down slope, jump across valleys, burn across new ridges, and then make it down slope again at least two other times in effectively one burning period,” he said. The three blazes are: A house in flames as the Airport Fire burns in Lake Elsinore, Calif., on Sept. 10. Apu Gomes / Getty Images The Airport Fire in Orange County, which has burned more than 35 square miles. Steve Concialdi said eight firefighters have been treated for injuries, mostly heat-related. The Line Fire in the San Bernardino National Forest, which was 18% contained Wednesday and had charred 57 square miles. A firefighter puts out a hot spot in a home near Lake Elsinore, Calif., on Sept. 11. Zoe Meyers / AFP – Getty Images The Bridge Fire east of Los Angeles, which grew tenfold in a day and has burned 78 square miles, torched at least 33 homes and six cabins and forced the evacuation of 10,000 people. – This Summarize was created by Neural News AI (V1). Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/firefighters-hope-cooler-weather-will-aid-battle-3-major-southern-cali-rcna170772