A ‘particularly dangerous situation’ develops as wildfires rage in the West

By Lauren Mascarenhas and Jillian Sykes, CNN

(CNN) – Hannah Hoobyar and her family lost their house to a raging Nevada wildfire that experts say could get much worse this week.

“We left with just the humans, the animals and the clothes on our backs,” Hoobyar, 26, said, describing dodging “giant chunks of ash” as they fled their northern Nevada home.

More families could be in harm’s way, as officials are warning a “particularly dangerous situation” could play out in the Davis Fire in Nevada, while multiple wildfires continue to rage across the West, forcing evacuations and burning down homes.

There are 67 active wildfires are burning across the United States, including nine in California and two in Nevada, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

In Southern California, three people, including an off-duty Los Angeles County sheriff’s sergeant, were rescued after being stuck in a remote area about five miles west of Mount Baldy, unable to access the road because of the fire conditions, Sheriff Robert Luna said.

A sheriff’s helicopter was able to rescue the trio, who were trapped “after trying to save a cabin from the blaze,” the department’s San Dimas Mountain Rescue team said in an Instagram post. “While the cabin was lost, the skill and determination of the crew, combined with a brief break in the smoke, ensured a flawless rescue,” the post detailed.

Back in Nevada, a red flag warning is in effect Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. for the Sierra Front, Western Nevada and Eastern Sierra, the National Weather Service in Reno said on X.

“This is a PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION. Gusty winds & dry conditions will lead to very rapid fire growth,” the National Weather Service in Reno wrote, making a rare danger designation for the organization.

The Davis Fire has burned over 5,800 acres, or about nine square miles, in Washoe County, according to a US Forest Service update.

Washoe County warned the Davis Fire is expected to “move significantly” Wednesday. “If you receive the notice to evacuate, don’t wait. The best scenario is that the fire models are wrong, but we want to be prepared,” the county said on X.

“We are expecting extreme weather conditions – something we haven’t seen in years. We are going to see dramatic growth in this fire,” Reno Fire Department Chief Dave Cochran told CNN affiliate KRNV.

Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo declared a state of emergency due to the Davis Fire earlier this week.

High winds and dry conditions can lead to rapid escalation of wildfires, which can have devastating consequences on surrounding communities.

Hoobyar saw a large plume of smoke outside her window Saturday and warned her family that they needed to leave. Moments later, officials were on a loudspeaker telling residents to evacuate immediately.

Leaving everything behind, Hoobyar and her family only made sure they had each other as they fled the wildfire with few belongings.

“Though it is very, very little, it is honestly the most important things.”

The family ended up at a local hotel for the night, unsure of what happened to their home until they came across a social media post around 1 a.m.

“Our lives got turned upside down in that hotel room,” Hoobyar said.

A video compilation shared online showed scenes of the Davis Fire, including Hoobyar’s home engulfed in flames.

“It took me a second to realize what I was watching but the first five seconds of the video was my house on fire with the flames coming out of the windows, the roof, everything.”

Hoobyar learned that it took less than 90 minutes for their home to burn down.

The Hoobyar family returned to their home Tuesday evening to find nothing but piles of brick and ash.

“We lost everything,” she said.

Hoobyar, who founded a disaster relief nonprofit at the age of 15, is grateful her community has now rallied to support her. A GoFundMe was created to help the family get some basic necessities, and it’s already raised over $39,000 as of Wednesday night.

Wildfires rage in California

Flames exploded overnight in Southern California, where at least three large wildfires, the Bridge, Line and Airport fires, have forced evacuations and strained local resources.

The scale and intensity of the California fires is “truly remarkable,” climate scientist Dr. Daniel Swain said.

The Bridge Fire, “in particular, has now become yet another in a long list of recent examples of California wildfires doing seemingly “impossible” things. It has now run clear across San Gabriel Mountains in a single day,” Swain said Tuesday night on X.

Evacuation orders were issued in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, where the Bridge Fire has burned more than 51,000 acres, or roughly 80 square miles, and has destroyed nearly 40 structures as of Thursday. It is currently the largest active fire in the state of California, according to Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone.

“There has been substantial wildfire growth overnight, with impacts to the communities of Mount Baldy and Wrightwood,” Marrone said Wednesday.

Fire crews battling the blaze on the ground and in the air are facing steep and inaccessible terrain, as well as poor visibility due to smoke, officials said.

Before that, intense heat challenged firefighters. While cooler temperatures are on the way, officials said the threat of fire growth still exists.

“We’re not out of the woods, we still have the potential for large fire growth today on the Bridge Fire and a potential for new starts,” Marrone said. “It’s very weather dependent. It’s also topography dependent.”

John Miller, a spokesperson for the US Forest Service, described the Bridge Fire as an “inferno,” noting nearly all vegetation in the Wrightwood area was charred.

“This fire has had critical and dangerous fire behavior and an incredible fire spread,” Miller said.

He added it was “amazing” more homes were not destroyed and attributed that to the efforts of numerous agencies combating the blaze.

“Firefighters, instead of being able to go in and suppress the fire, they were actively helping law enforcement evacuate people from the community. It was a life-saving mission,” Miller said. “Once we were able to get people out, then we can start engaging the fire, where it was safe for our people.”

The Airport Fire, burning in Orange and Riverside counties, has led to evacuation orders for residents in its path.

The state of California secured a FEMA grant to support fire suppression efforts in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said overnight.

Newsom has proclaimed a state of emergency due to the Line, Bridge and Airport fires and the California National Guard is deploying multiple resources to assist with wildfire response, including Blackhawk helicopters, 80 soldiers and a police company.

CalFire warned that smoke from the wildfires is negatively impacting air quality for much of the region, advising residents to stay indoors if possible and wear a mask outside.

A 34-year-old man, Justin Wayne Halstenberg, was arrested Tuesday in connection to the ongoing Line Fire, which has burned nearly 37,400 acres, or about 59 square miles, in San Bernardino County as of Thursday.

He faces nine charges, including counts related to arson causing more than $7 million in damages, causing great bodily injury to a firefighter who suffered a broken ankle and the destruction of a home in the Running Springs community, San Bernardino County District Attorney Jason Anderson announced at a Thursday news conference. Halstenberg is being held on $80,000 bond, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said. It’s unclear whether he’s retained an attorney.

Because the Line Fire is ongoing, Halstenberg could face additional charges, Anderson said.

“Arson is just one of those crimes that is, to me, unbelievably despicable because it’s a head scratcher. There’s no value to be had out of arson,” Anderson said.

A family home of 30 years burned to the ground

A family of seven is devastated after losing their home of more than 30 years after the Airport Fire burned the property “to the ground.”

“We know that we are very lucky and blessed that everybody made it out alive, but we still lost a family home of more than 30 years, and those memories are going to be really hard to replace,” Stacy Correia, 47, told CNN on Wednesday.

Correia’s daughter, Justice Caruso, lives in the house with her husband, her mother-in-law and four young children ranging from four to 10 years old. “That’s where my son-in-law was born, that’s where the grandchildren were born and raised,” Correia said.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Caruso family had less than 10 minutes to evacuate, Correia said. They left not knowing what would happen to their beloved home, which they had recently renovated, she said.

They are now “trying to reconcile the fact that we lost every worldly possession that the kids have,” Correia said. “We’re just happy to have each other, that’s all that matters to us.”

CNN’s Chris Boyette, Cindy Von Quednow, Melissa Alonso, Zenebou Sylla and Taylor Romine contributed to this report.

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