Water-dropping aircraft to hit wildfire above Rancho Cucamonga
Improving weather conditions are expected to allow officials to deploy water-dropping aircraft Friday to a wildfire burning in the San Bernardino National Forest near Rancho Cucamonga, building on the momentum they gained against the blaze a day earlier.
Water-dropping helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft have been grounded by powerful Santa Ana winds and gusts of more than 80 mph. But conditions are expected to be calmer Friday, with winds staying below 20 mph, said Lisa Stall of the National Weather Service.
“It won’t be nearly as bad as it has been the last couple of days,” she said.
The wind is also expected to shift Friday and head onshore, pushing smoke and ash away from residents, Stall said.
Given the shift in weather, Carol Underhill of the U.S. Forest Service said in a statement that officials anticipated deploying the water-dropping aircraft Friday morning.
The Etiwanda fire was 53% contained Thursday night as firefighters on the ground were working to cut containment lines with hand crews and bulldozers, officials said. The blaze, which was burning in the foothills away from residential areas, had scorched about 1,627 acres.
Three firefighters have suffered minor injuries and one home has been damaged. More than 900 firefighters have been sent to fight the blaze.
The heat wave that has been baking the region was expected to give way to a cooling trend over the weekend, with temperatures easing back into the 70s at the beaches and low-80s inland, according to the weather service.
Twitter: @josephserna
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