Mountain fire burns close to resort town; 6,000 evacuated

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A plume of smoke looms over Lake Hemet as a water-dropping helicopter heads to the lake to refill. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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Frank Boimilla, left, and Nathan Saucedo of Lake Elsinore fish on the edge of Lake Hemet as the Mountain fire burns in the background above Highway 74. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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Residents of Idyllwild stand in the center of town and watch a towering plume of smoke rise from the Mountain fire that’s burning in a wilderness area a few miles north of the community. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

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U.S. Forest Service firefighters water down the smoldering embers of a mobile home on Bonita Vista Road in Mountain Center. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

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Kern County firefighters take a break on the shores of Lake Hemet as a water-dropping helicopter refills during the Mountain fire off Highway 74. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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Orange hazy smoke fills the air above Lake Hemet as a water-dropping helicopter uses the lake to refill during the Mountain fire off Highway 74 at Mt. San Jacinto State Park. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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A firefighting C-130 aircraft is dwarfed by a plume of smoke from the Mountain fire near Idyllwild. The wildfire had scorched more that 22,800 acres by Thursday afternoon and was only 15% contained. Evacuation of more than 2,000 homes was ordered around Idyllwild. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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San Bernardino County firefighters walk through scorched terrain as they look for hot spots and fire-damaged trees around Idyllwild. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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A police cruiser speeds past a line of mailboxes along Highway 74 in Hemet as the Mountain fire rages in the distance. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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The Mountain fire burns out of control, forcing evacuations off Highway 74. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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Charred remains of motor bikes stand at a residence on Bonita Vista Road. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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A photographer shoots the Mountain fire on the hills along Apple Canyon Road in Mountain Center. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Lon Paul, a well-known gunmaker, lost his shop to the wildfire that ravaged through his place on Bonita Vista Road in Mountain Center. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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The Mountain fire looms in the background of Morris Ranch Road off Highway 74 in Garner Valley on July 17. Authorities ordered more evacutations in the area. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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Arrowhead Hotshots from Kings Canyon National Park march down Mountain Fire Base Camp set up along Highway 74 in Mountain Center. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Firefighters prepare hoses at Mountain Fire Base Camp set up along Highway 74 in Mountain Center. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Fire retardant is dropped on a hillside near a church campground in Mountain Center. Mandatory evacuations were ordered for 24 homes in the Bonita Vista and Fleming Ranch communities. Evacuation centers for residents and pets were set up at local schools and animal shelters. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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A burned-out vehicle sits at a residence on Bonita Vista Road. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Barbara Lundquist, 71, was evacuated from Idyllwild and spent the night in her 1969 VW van parked near Lake Hemet. Evacuation orders affecting about 6,000 people remained in force Thursday as the Mountain fire near Idyllwild and Fern Valley continued to burn. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Art Jaenke of Garner Valley hoses down a large shed on his property to prepare as the Mountain fire looms in the background. Jaenke is staying behind to protect his property, despite calls to evacuate. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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Irene Jaenke of Garner Valley prepares to evacuate with her pets as the Mountain fire looms in the background in Garney Valley. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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Resident Art Jaenke of Garner Valley, middle, watches the approaching Mountain fire with U.S. Forest Service firefighters Matt Boss, left, and Josh Richardson, near Highway 74 on July 17. Residents were told to evacuate, but Jaenke stayed behind to protect his property. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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A firefighter walks past a burned structure at a church campground on top of Apple Canyon Road in Mountain Center. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Firefighters respond to a burned structure at a church campground located on top of Apple Canyon Road in Mountain Center. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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A town hall located at a church campground suffered some fire damage to its steps in Mountain Center. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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A hillside can be seen burning from the church campground. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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A hillside burns in Mountain Center. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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A fire crew returns from protecting Zen Mountain Center at the top of Apple Canyon Road in Mountain Center. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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A helicopter drops water on the brush along Apple Canyon Road in Mountain Center. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

By Rick Rojas

July 19, 2013 11:23 AM PT

The massive Mountain fire remained three to four miles away the mountain tourist resort of Idyllwild on Friday, with firefighters struggling to prevent the blaze from hitting the town.

Authorities reported Friday that the fire had burned 24,818 acres and was 15% contained.

More than 6,000 people have been evacuated from the community, and it’s unclear when they can return.

Those living in the Apple Canyon and Bonita Vista areas were permitted to head home Thursday night. Among state highways that were closed, California 74 was reopened to traffic, but a portion of California 243 remained closed.

PHOTOS: Mountain fire near Idyllwild

The Idyllwild and Fern Valley areas remained under an evacuation notice, as did the San Jacinto Park Wilderness and Trails End Community.

Crews were hoping Thursday to take advantage of cooler nighttime temperatures and rising relative humidity in their efforts to contain the wildfire burning in rugged, steep terrain.

They were being aided by U.S. Forest Service contract helicopters that were making repeated water drops Thursday night, said agency spokesman Sheldon Keafer.

Much of the fire activity has been within the perimeter of the blaze.

The blaze “has been creeping along the edges,” Keafer told The Times.

The fire broke out Monday afternoon as flames raced across dry chaparral, underbrush and trees. Investigators said they believed the blaze was man-made but had not determined a precise cause.

More that 3,300 firefighters were battling the blaze. On Thursday, they were assisted by 19 helicopters and 10 aerial tankers. Three firefighters were treated for minor injuries.

Thick clouds of smoke prompted officials to close the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway.

On Thursday afternoon, charred rock formations and blackened trees were visible at some spots along the winding roads leading to Idyllwild. Plumes of smoke formed a gray canopy in the sky, darkening the San Jacinto Mountains and raining hot embers.

Residents of communities on the other side of the range, which include Palm Springs and the rest of the Coachella Valley, were keeping a close watch. While officials said the fire was not expected to crest the range and race north into the valley, the popular Palm Springs Aerial Tramway was closed.

Idyllwild, known for its low-key ambience and concentration of free spirits, artists and music lovers, was all but abandoned.

Roughly 6,000 people had been ordered to evacuate an area that includes about 2,200 homes. The evacuation was ordered, Poole said, because of fears the wind might shift and push the blaze into the secluded community.

“It’s always a lot of heartache incurred in an evacuation,” Poole said. “Human life always trumps everything else.”

Many residents ended up at Red Cross shelters at public schools in nearby Anza and Hemet.

Idyllwild “is built around the fact we’re vulnerable to a fire,” said longtime resident Joanna Bruno, 58. She had evacuated to the Hemet High shelter with her two 15-year-old grandchildren.

Bruno and others spoke of their fondness for living in a sparsely developed mountain area where the urban crush of traffic gives way to chirping birds.

But she and others at the shelter said they know such seclusion puts them in a precarious position: They must keep a constant vigil for wildfires and be prepared to leave on short notice.

Once the fire began, Bruno said, she continuously tracked it, listening to a local emergency radio station.

When the call to leave came, her family was ready. They grabbed the packed bags on the kitchen table and left. “I got plan A, plan B and plan C, and plan B panned out,” she said. “This is normal operating procedures.”

Still, not everyone was willing to leave.

A few miles from the shelter, speaking over the phone from a mountain neighborhood that had received evacuation orders, Rick Chaney said he wasn’t about to let fire disrupt his life — or let anyone tell him what to do.

“I don’t feel threatened so I’m not leaving,” said the 61-year-old proprietor of Chaney’s Plumbing.

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