Apple Fire update: Fire lines built overnight as airdrops resume; 15,000 acres scorched; 7,800 ordered to evacuate; 12% containment

As they begin Sunday — their second, full day of battling the fast-growing Apple Fire that now spans more than 23 miles and has sent smoke drifting to Arizona — firefighters have planned another all-day assault on this unchecked wildfire, which threatens thousands of homes in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. 

The massive blaze, which began Friday evening as two smaller fires that eventually merged, has continued to grow overnight— fed by low humidity, a slight breeze, thick vegetation and triple-digit temperatures. 

As of 6:20 a.m. Sunday, the Apple Fire had scorched 15,000 acres, destroyed three structures and was 12% contained amid efforts of 1,200 firefighters and scores of water and fire retardant drops from the air on Saturday.

About 7,800 people from 2,600 residences have been ordered to evacuate, officials said late Saturday. No injuries have been reported.

The leading edge of smoke from the fire has pushed as far as the city of Globe, Ariz., roughly 400 miles away, according to the National Weather Service's Phoenix office. The main body of smoke is visible across south-central and southwest regions of the state. 

According to published media reports, witnesses called 911 soon after the fires started, stating a man was seen walking along Apple Tree Lane near Oak Glen Road in unincorporated Cherry Valley, igniting each blaze.

Fire officials say a cause remains under investigation.

Cal Fire Capt. Fernando Herrera said the fire is burning on two sides. The western edge is in the Forest Falls area in San Bernardino County, while the eastern flank has headed toward the Morongo Band of Mission Indians' reservation in Riverside County.

Herrera added that throughout the night firefighters, with the help of bulldozers and hand crews, built fire lines in anticipation of continued aerial attacks that would take place after the sun had risen Sunday. 

"It is steep terrain, rugged terrain," he said. "Access is limited. We can't really get to it on foot. We rely a lot on the aircraft to do the work during the day."

Officials brought in the Very Large Air Tanker on Saturday, which along with a number of other air tankers were used to target the northwest corner of the fire.

The VLAT, as it is called, is capable of dropping roughly 10,000 gallons of fire retardant at a time. 

The Apple Fire began shortly before 5 p.m. Friday in the 9000 block of Oak Glen Road in Cherry Valley, which is a few miles north of Beaumont, Cal Fire said. 

At the request of the fire department, Southern California Edison turned off electricity along Oak Glen Road and the surrounding side streets to prevent additional fires from breaking out as burned power poles collapsed and dropped transmission lines.

The practice is known as a "public safety power shutoff."

On Saturday, Herrera said, the only fire breaks in the area are roads and natural barriers.

"We're doing our best to try and control this," he said. 

The western edge of the fire near the Forest Falls area of San Bernardino County is full of heavy vegetation, according to Herrera. The eastern side also has heavy vegetation, but thins and becomes rocky and grassy closer to the unincorporated community of Whitewater.

As of Saturday night, the only structures lost have been a single-family home and two outbuildings near Avenida Miravilla in Cherry Valley. 

Herrera said an assessment team will be looking for any other damaged structures where the fire had burned.

"It's so hot and it's so intense in some of these areas that haven't been mopped up that it's hard to get in to make an assessment," he said. 

Mandatory evacuations have been ordered for Cherry Valley residents north of Dutton Street, east of Oak Glen Road and south of County Line Road, according to the Riverside County Emergency Management Department. 

Also, those living north of Gilman Street in the Banning Bluff area and north of Cherry Valley Boulevard, west of Highland Springs Avenue and east of Beaumont Avenue, were also ordered to evacuate, Herrera said. 

All ongoing evacuations orders remain in effect Sunday.

Residents of the west Potato Canyon area to Raywood Flat in Oak Glen are under an evacuation warning, while residents in the Banning area who live north of Wilson Street, east of Sunset Avenue and west of Hathaway Street are under mandatory evacuation orders, officials said. 

An evacuation warning means mandatory evacuation orders could come with "little or no notice," officials said.

Residents of the unincorporated communities of Oak Glen and Forest Falls are under voluntary evacuation orders as of 5 p.m. Saturday.

By 6:30 p.m. Saturday, an evacuation warning was issued for residents north of Morongo Road, east of Millard Canyon Road and west of Whitewater Canyon Road.

This particular area is north of the Interstate 10 and Highway 111 interchange on the western edge of the Coachella Valley, in the unincorporated community of Whitewater.

An evacuation center has been set up at Beaumont High School, 39139 Cherry Valley Blvd., in Beaumont. 

The blaze is threatening 2,586 homes and affecting as many as 7,800 residents, according to figures released Saturday night.

Officials said that in addition to the blaze, they are also mindful of protecting evacuees from the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, the evacuation center is being used as more of a check-in point rather than an actual shelter.

On Friday night, 31 people checked in and seven families were placed into hotel rooms to the west of Beaumont and Banning, in the Moreno Valley and Redlands areas, according to John Medina, shelter supervisor with the American Red Cross.

Most evacuees who checked in on Friday, Medina said, had to check out of the hotel in the morning and check back in at the evacuation center in order to secure a room for an additional night.

The center is also providing individually wrapped meals — in some cases, dropping them off at hotel room doors — due to COVID-19.

"Most people will fend for themselves," Medina said, while standing in a nearly empty gymnasium Saturday afternoon. People will stay with friends or family nearby, he said, or secure their own hotel rooms. "On average, about 10% of our evacuees take advantage of our resources."

On Saturday morning, Beverly Clay stood outside the evacuation center and recalled four years earlier when she had to evacuate her home during the Bogart Fire.

She said the Apple Fire has her concerned for her horses as they don't do well with smoke. 

"We went to get the horses out last night, but they wont let me up there," said Clay, as her three dogs Coco, Trusty and Khaya ate from a paper soup bowl. 

Her son, Bill Boehm of Huntington Beach, was at her house visiting on Friday night. He was there to drop off his dog, Khaya, before a family vacation.

"I just came in to see my mom last night – it was amazing timing." Boehm said Saturday. "We were able to get out, they gave us quite a bit of notice. We had friends in Banning that took us in. We heard from a friend at 1 a.m. that the neighborhood was still in tact."

Clay said they were able to save pictures, financial documents and some of her art as they evacuated. 

Volunteers, later Saturday, informed Clay her horses were safe.

The fire has prompted a number of road closures in Banning. The following closures were still in effect early Sunday:

• Northbound on Oak Glen road from Orchard Avenue
• Northbound on International Park/Cherry Ave at Bridge Street
• Northbound Ave San Timoteo at Orchard Street
• Northbound Winesap at Dutton Street
• Northbound Bellflower Ave. at Cherry Valley Boulevard
• Northbound Highland Springs at Oak Valley
• Northbound Sunset Ave at West Wilson Street
• Northbound Bluff St. at Mias Canyon Road.

Due to the Apple Fire, forest officials announced Saturday evening that they had closed the San Gorgonio Wilderness, a roughly 96,000-acre area north of the fire. Also, the Pacific Crest Trail, a route popular with hikers, was closed between the forest boundary and Onyx Summit. 

In addition, the South Coast AQHD issued a smoke advisory for the Coachella Valley that has been extended into Sunday, cautioning residents to remain indoors, avoid physical activity and to use air conditioning or run their air purifiers.

The Apple Fire broke out amid an extended heat wave across the Inland Empire and in the Coachella Valley, where temperatures topped out at 111 degrees Saturday in Palm Springs, according to the National Weather Service.

Sunday is expected to be sunny, with a high near 99. It will also be breezy, with a west wind of 15 to 25 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph, according to the weather service.

"Heat always makes a difference, as does wind and low humidity," said Battalion Chief Tim Adams of Anaheim Fire and Rescue. 

Previous reporting by Desert Sun reporters Maria Sestito and Brian Blueskye contributed to this report. City News Service also contributed to this report.

Shane Newell covers breaking news and the western Coachella Valley cities of Palm Springs, Cathedral City and Desert Hot Springs. He can be reached at shane.newell@desertsun.com, 760-778-4649 or on Twitter at @journoshane.

Maria Sestito covers aging and the senior population in Coachella Valley for The Desert Sun. She is also a Report for America corps member and new to the desert. Please say "hello" via maria.sestito@desertsun.com or @RiaSestito.

Desert Sun reporter Brian Blueskye covers arts and entertainment. He can be reached at brian.blueskye@desertsun.com or (760) 778-4617. Support local news, subscribe to The Desert Sun.