SAM Magazine—Mount Baldy, Calif., July 10, 2024—After it was first reported Sunday, July 7, at 10 a.m. PDT, the Vista Fire has grown to nearly 2,500 acres and has prompted evacuation orders for Mt. Baldy Resort east of Los Angeles as the fire approaches the ski area. As of Wednesday afternoon, it was zero percent contained.

The latest report says the winds are moving the fire east and Mt. Baldy is located to the southwest of the fire, but it had reached the ridge of the ski area. 

Mt. Baldy posted to social media that several air-support units have been working in shifts to drop water and fire suppressant on the nearby flames, with helicopters dipping into the ski area’s snowmaking ponds for water. 

“We repositioned fan guns and prepped our snowmaking pumps in order to keep buildings and equipment wet in the event that the fire broke over the ridge,” Mt. Baldy general manager Robby Ellingson told SAM. “Our equipment is typically serviced in the summer season. We slightly altered our summer maintenance schedule to position fan guns in strategic locations in case they were needed.”

When the fire began on Sunday, hikers in the popular Mt. Baldy area were told to evacuate and the ski area opened its Chair 1 for downloading to aid in the evacuation. Portions of several trails, including the Pacific Crest Trail from the Lyte Creek area to Mt. Baldy, are closed until further notice, according to the authorities with the San Bernadino National Forest.

Ellingson said brush fire units have been staged on site with access to water, restrooms and resting areas. A unified command of the California Incident Management Team and San Bernadino Fire Department are leading the efforts to fight the Vista Fire. 

A lasting heat wave is expected to continue Thursday, and the terrain the fire is burning through is steep and rugged with plenty of dry fuels in its path.