Sept. 24--A rash of seven fires over several days kept San Bernardino County Fire Department personnel busy, according to fire department spokesman Capt. Jay Hausman.
The last occurred Monday morning at about 3:50 a.m. in the 11700 block of Lee Avenue in Adelanto.
The first engine arrived on scene to find an abandoned building burning. Efforts to put the blaze out were hampered by damaged fire hydrants in the area and water had to be shuttled from a distant hydrant until a water tender arrived, according to fire officials.
On Sunday a garage fire in the 14400 block of Ivy Street, also in Adelanto, was reported at 1:32 a.m. Firefighters contained the fire to materials inside of the garage and the blaze was extinguished within minutes of the first engine companies arrival, according to fire officials.
Also on Sunday, a small laundry room fire in a home in the 13200 block of Rapture Road, in Phelan, was reported at 7:30 a.m. Quick response by Phelan firefighters prevented major damage to the residence and early containment prevented displacement of the family, Hausman said.
Passersby reported a manure fire in the vicinity of National Trails Highway and Corral Road, near Helendale, on Saturday at about 4:40 p.m.
A high wind advisory was in effect for the area and the reason the fire spread quickly across an abandoned dairy field, Hausman said.
The remoteness of the area and lack of a water supply proved challenging for firefighters, who were aided in their efforts by a rancher's tractor and equipment from the city of Victorville and communities of Silver Lakes and Hinkley.
Workers using cutting torches to remove steel for scrap was the cause of the blaze, according to Hausman.
Two fires in Old Town Victorville on Saturday were in close proximity to each other and both deemed suspicious, Hausman said.
The first Old Town fire occurred at about 9:42 p.m. in an abandoned building in the 16700 block of C Street.
According to Hausman the abandoned structure has been used by vagrants. There have been multiple fires reported at the location over the past year.
"We were mopping up the first fire when we saw the smoke from the second fire," Hausman said. "There were witnesses who reported seeing several individuals lighting the second fire."
The second Old Town fire, in the vicinity of Seventh and C streets consisted of several large piles of rubbish burning in an alley.
Witnesses to the alley fire reported seeing individuals pouring gasoline on the rubbish piles and igniting them, Hausman said.
Friday's two-alarm residential fire in the 14400 block of Harmony Lane in Victorville was the most devastating of all the weekend fires, causing an estimated $125,000 in damage and displacing a family, fire officials said.
The two firefighters injured in Thursday's fire on Crossing Trail in Victorville are recuperating from their burns at home and are expected to return to full duty in several weeks, according to Hausman.
Rebecca Howes can be reached at [email protected] or at 760-951-6276
Copyright 2013 - Daily Press, Victorville, Calif.
