Crews Continue To Battle Brush Fire Burning Near Big Bear Lake

BIG BEAR LAKE (CBSLA.com) — Firefighters continued to battle a brush fire on Monday burning near Snow Summit Ski Resort in the San Bernardino Mountains.

At 8 a.m., four air tankers and four helicopters will be deployed to assist in making air drops on the fire.

Just before 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, crews were sent to Knickerbocker Road and Pine Knot Avenue for report of a fire burning just south of Big Bear Lake, according to the National Forest Service.

Upon their arrival, crews learned the brush fire was spreading at a moderate rate of speed.

CBS2's Jasmine Viel reported crews experienced dangerous conditions overnight as they worked to contain the blaze and extinguish hot spots amid falling boulders in the area.

Mandatory evacuations remain in place for the following areas.

— All areas south of Pennsylvania Avenue between Knickerbocker and Jeffries roads

— All areas south of Oak Street between Jeffries Road and Eureka Drive

— All areas south of McWhinney Lane between Eureka and Thrush drives

According to authorities, voluntary evacuations also remain in effect for the area south of Brownie Lane, east of Thrush and north of Switzerland drives, and west of Summit Boulevard.

An evacuation center has been set up at the Big Bear Convention Center, located at the intersection of Big Bear Boulevard and Division Road.

As of 2 p.m., authorities said evacuations would be lifted for residents only, and roads within the evacuation area will remain closed to the general public.

Schools in the Bear Valley Unified School District will remain closed today with the exception of Fallsvale School in Forest Falls. At this time, it remains unclear if school will be canceled for students on Tuesday.

The fire remains at 100 acres with 50 percent containment, firefighters said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

No injuries have been reported.