Community Corner

Banning Woman with Family on Morongo Reservation: 'My Rez is on Fire'

Reported by Patch Editors Guy McCarthy and Renee Schiavone.

Monday update:  Click here to follow all of the updates on the Hathaway Fire posted Monday, June 10.

Update 10:50 p.m.: 
The U.S. Forest service reports that the Hathaway fire burning near Banning has spread by about 200 acres since their last update.

According to the agency's official twitter account for the region, the fire is approximately 1,500 acres and is 15 percent containedat this hour.

Update 8:50 p.m.
The 1,300-acre Hathaway Fire northeast of Banning was considered 5 percent contained as of 8 p.m. Sunday June 9, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

There were an estimated 400 firefighters assigned to the blaze and a request was in place for more personnel, USFS spokeswoman Carol Underhill said in a phone interview at 7:30 p.m. Sunday.

There were no structures threatened but the fire was consuming dense chaparral and heavy timber in places. Smoke and ash were evident most of Sunday afternoon in the Big Bear area, raising concerns among some residents, Rim of the World News and the Big Bear Grizzly reported.

The fire was reported shortly before noon Sunday in the Hathaway Canyon area on Morongo Indian Reservation land, according to Cal Fire. The cause of the fire was being investigated.

Update 7:15 p.m. 
West-southwest winds gusting to 20 miles per hour were expected to continue through around 8 p.m. Sunday on the 1,300-acre fire burning northeast of Banning, according to a National Weather Service spot weather forecast requested by incident commanders.

After 8 p.m. June 9 winds were expected to weaken, and cooler temperatures with moderate humidity recovery were anticipated overnight. Daytime humidity Monday was expected to be similar to Sunday, with a "very dry low pressure system" moving in, according to the Weather Service.

Update 5:40 p.m. A fast-moving fire consumed an estimated 1,300 acres in less than six hours Sunday on Morongo Reservation/San Gorgonio Wilderness lands north of Cabazon and northeast of Banning, according to the Forest Service and Cal Fire.

The fire was considered 10 percent contained as of 5:15 p.m. There was concern for "significant growth potential east of Banning," according to Cal Fire. More than 20 additional firefighter crews had been requested as of 5 p.m.

Update 5:05 p.m.
Fire consumed an estimated 1,000 acres Sunday on Morongo Reservation/San Gorgonio Wilderness lands north of Cabazon and northeast of Banning, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

Update 4:55 p.m. 
A fire north of Cabazon and northeast of Banning consumed an estimated 500 acres in about five hours Sunday June 9.

The fire was burning in Hathaway Canyon, on Morongo Reservation/San Gorgonio Wilderness lands, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

The Forest Service was working in unified command with Cal Fire-Riverside County. No structures were threatened, according to both agencies.

Posted 4:20 p.m. 
Joanna Saubel is a resident of Banning and she has family who live on the Morongo Indian Reservation, so she was concerned Sunday afternoon when she saw smoke in the area of Potrero Canyon.

The blaze was reported just before noon Sunday north of Cabazon and northeast of Banning, according to Cal Fire.

"We were in town eating, in Banning," before noon, Saubel, 27, told Banning-Beaumont Patch in a phone interview about 3:40 p.m. June 9. "We were headed to the rez to hang out and go fishing, at the bog." 

"When we started heading into Potrero, the main canyon, is when we saw the smoke," Saubel said. "It wasn't that big then."

But the fire quickly consumed an estimated 200 acres of brush, sending up a massive plume of smoke that was visible as far away as Redlands.

She began taking photos and she posted on Facebook, "My rez in on fire."

She also posted a video of a Cal Fire helicopter pilot flying low over the bog, possibly in an effort to find water for fighting the fire.

"It's gotten pretty big since then, but it appears to be going up into the mountains, not toward any houses," Saubel said.

The blaze appeared to be on Morongo Indian Reservation or San Bernardino National Forest lands, accessible for engine crews by roads primarily controlled by the reservation.

In addition to five tanker planes and three helicopters, there were more than 140 firefighters assigned on the ground, according to Cal Firespokesman Mark Annas.


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