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Crews Announce 4 Percent Containment In Blue Cut Fire

DEVORE (CBSLA.com) — Fire crews made a breakthrough Wednesday night, announcing their first containment lines around a fire that's burned 26,000 acres in southeast San Bernardino County.

The Blue Cut Fire is four percent contained.

Mandatory evacuation orders are in effect for about 80,000 people.

"In my 40 years of fighting fire, I've never seen fire behavior so extreme," said Incident Cmdr. Mike Wakoski.

Crews made a heroic stand to save Lytle Creek and the Mountain Lakes resort Wednesday. Their fire lines were holding Wednesday night.

Wrightwood was still threatened, though no structures have been damaged. Flames came dangerously close to the town late Wednesday afternoon.

Some residents refused to leave their homes in the Wildhorse Canyon area near Wrightwood Wednesday night, despite evacuation orders.

"It's my home," said Jay Coller. "Would you leave your home?"

Areas south of Phelan and Oak Hills suffered heavy damage Tuesday. There's no official count yet of how many homes and businesses have been damaged or destroyed.

No serious injuries or deaths have been reported in areas affected by the fire, but cadaver dogs were put to work searching burned out homes and ranches. They turned up nothing.

About 1,300 firefighters are working to control the Blue Cut Fire.

After a long closure, the northbound lanes of Interstate 15 reopened through the Cajon Pass about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday.

bigrigs
Big rigs parked on side roads along Interstate 15 Wednesday. The freeway has been closed through the Cajon Pass since Tuesday because of the Blue Cut Fire.

School districts throughout southeast San Bernardino County canceled classes through Thursday.

A full list of evacuations, road closures and evacuation centers can be found on the US Forest Service's incident page.

(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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