Brush Fire Jumps Southern California Freeway, Burning Cars
By JENNIFER MEDINA

LOS ANGELES — Flames from a nearby brush fire on Friday afternoon quickly overtook a stretch of a packed highway that leads from Southern California to Las Vegas, causing pandemonium on a stretch of road that is routinely gridlocked at that time.

As fire retardant began to rain down on the area, dozens of drivers and passengers abandoned their vehicles and fled, waiting in the brush a few hundred yards away.

At least two dozen cars, five homes, a tractor-trailer and a boat were destroyed during the fire, which had grown to 3,500 acres by evening. Fueled by gusty desert winds and bone-dry brush by the freeway, the fire spread quickly before jumping onto the southbound lanes of the highway near Victorville, Calif.

There were only two minor injuries, according to the United States Forest Service. The authorities initially labeled the fire a “mass casualty incident,” but it appeared that most vehicles had been evacuated before the fire engulfed the freeway. Russell Allevato, 45, of Southgate, Mich., was among those who were in cars destroyed by the fire, The Associated Press said.

“It was total smoke and all the cars just started to stack and the fire got closer to us, and everyone started running up the hill,” said Mr. Allevato, who was traveling with relatives in a rental car, “Hundreds and hundreds of people running up the hill.”

News helicopters showed images of billowing black smoke as several vehicles exploded, including a big rig transporting cars.

Fire tankers dumped gallons of water directly on the freeway to extinguish the flames.

As firefighters gained control of the flames near the freeway, officials from the California Highway Patrol began allowing drivers to return to their vehicles, creating a strange scene of people walking among charred cars. But the fire was not contained, and dozens of homes in the largely rural area were evacuated.

“It’s going to be a long night,” said Steve Carapia, an official with the California Highway Patrol. “But there is no more danger in that immediate area.”

The section of Interstate 15 will probably be closed through the weekend, officials said.

Firefighters were forced to momentarily halt air operations after they spotted a drone, San Bernardino County fire officials said.

加州野火燒上公路 吞噬30車

美國加州十七日野火延燒到高速公路，計有兩人受輕傷，卅輛車被焚，火勢燒毀附近五間民宅，並逼近另外五十間民宅，洛杉磯通往賭城拉斯維加斯的高速公路被迫封閉，延燒面積達十四平方公里。警消十八日凌晨將附近數百名露營者撤離，包括兒童。

十七日下午，火勢從南加州與拉斯維加斯之間最重要的高速公路「十五號州際公路」旁的隘口竄出，不久後就透過極為乾燥的灌木叢，蔓延到高速公路上，引燃車輛，迫使人們棄車逃難。

廿九歲的安德雷德看到火苗竄上高速公路、人們面色驚恐朝著他跑來，立刻停車，跟大家一起跑，卻發現被火包圍，無處可逃。他聽到消防隊員叫大家找掩護，就跟另外四男兩女躲到一輛小卡車後面。他回憶說：「你可以聽見大家車子的輪胎發出爆裂聲，濃煙從四面八方襲來，你會覺得很熱。我們一邊等人來救，一邊祈禱。」

電視台的直升機空拍畫面顯示，火勢從一輛車跳到另一輛車上，灑水直升機和消防員努力滅火。當地林務管理單位表示，至少派出一千名消防員救火，至十八日為止已控制百分之五的火勢。

四十五歲的阿勒維多租車載兩個女兒、侄子和他的女友到洛杉磯玩，他說，租來的車和「我們所有的行李都毀了」。

警方說，已將在火災現場附近露營的一百卅名兒童撤離，還要再撤一百七十名。另外一個營地的九十名女童軍已撤離。

警方已清空六個營地，十八日上午前還要再清空五個。

加州連續四年乾旱，野火頻傳，有些從高速公路附近竄出，但波及車輛的非常罕見。

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/18/us/brush-fire-jumps-southern-california-freeway-burning-cars.html

2015-07-19．聯合報．A13．國際．編譯李京倫