Two new wildfires break out in California

Two new devastating wildfires have broken out Southern California early Thursday morning, scorching through over a combined 300 acres ‘with a rapid rate of spread’, as it’s revealed a herd of goats helped save the Ronald Reagan Library from burning down yesterday. 

More than 10 wildfires are blazing overall in the state. The latest blaze broke out in the Golden State in Jurupa Valley at 12.39am local time and is called the 46 Fire because it is located on the 5300 block of 46th Street. 

The 46 Fire had spread across 75 acres and was 0% contained and at least 74 firefighters are on the scene tackling the blaze which officials say is ‘burning with a rapid rate of spread’.

The Hillside Fire erupted in San Bernardino around 2am on Thursday near Highway 18 and Lower Waterman Canyon. By 2.30am, the fire had burned more than 200 acres and was 0% contained. 

Officials revealed Wednesday that a herd of 500 goats helped save the Ronald Reagan library near Simi Valley from the raging Easy Fire after the field animals were brought to the hilltop complex earlier this year to eat flammable scrub surrounding the building.   

The 46 Fire broke out at 12.39am local time and had spread across 75 acres and was 0% contained and at least 74 firefighters are on the scene tackling the blaze

The scope of the 46 Fire pictured above in Jurupa Valley in Riverside County, where it is 0% contained

A firefighter pictured above battling the 46 Fire which broke out just after midnight early Thursday in Jurupa Valley 

A chopper pictured dumping water upon the fast-advancing 46 Fire in Jurupa Valley

The second blaze that ignited Thursday morning is the Hillside Fire in San Bernardino. A firefighter pictured battling the San Bernardino blaze above early Thursday

A firefighter passes a burning home as the Hillside fire burns in San Bernardino on Thursday. There are over 10 wildfires burning up and down the state of California 

The Hillside blaze ignited during red flag fire danger warnings and destroyed multiple residences

Firefighters hose down a house on fire to try and prevent the spread to other homes during the Hillside fire early Thursday

The Hillside Fire pictured above burning through this neighborhood in the northern End of San Bernardino, not far from the San Bernardino Forest

The goats were hired from local company 805 Goats in May to clear around 13 acres (5 hectares) of scrub from the area and create a protective barrier around the library. 

Firefighters on the scene were able to douse the flames of the Easy Fire, which was driven by gale-force winds Wednesday morning and quickly encircled the library where Ronald and Nancy Reagan are buried. The blaze was stopped as it encroached just 50 feet within the hanger housing Reagan’s Air Force One jet and a piece of the Berlin Wall. 

‘We were told by one of the fire fighters that they believe that fire break made their job easier,’ library spokeswoman Melissa Giller said. ‘The brush only went so far, it didn’t reach the library, because the goats ate it all.’ 

The site houses papers and memorabilia from Reagan’s 1981-1989 administrations, and the Cold War leader is buried there alongside his wife Nancy. 

Goat 805 owner Scott Morris, 43, says the Boer goats like to eat noxious weeds and other invasive species that fuel wildfires.     

‘At the end of the day, you kind of sit down and say “wow, we had an impact,'”‘ the former business consultant said, who not only helped save the Reagan library on Wednesday, but helped a rancher rescue 100 goats trapped in a burning barn.

‘All the flames are gone, all we see are charred hillsides. We feel the worst is over and the Reagan library is safe,’ Giller said. 

Still the Easy Fire continued to wreak havoc. By 6pm the Easy Fire had burned over 1,650 acres, forced around 30,000 people to evacuate their homes, and destroyed some structures, according to fire authorities. As of Thursday morning the blaze was just 5% contained.

Wind gusts of hurricane force, meaning ta least 74mph, were reported at a local weather station about seven miles north of Simi Valley, fanning the Easy Fire.   

Officials revealed Wednesday that a herd of 500 goats helped save the Ronald Reagan library near Simi Valley from the raging Easy Fire after the field animals were brought to the hilltop complex in May to eat flammable scrub surrounding the building. Firefighters battle to contain blaze in California’s Jurupa Valley

The library is home to the presidential records from Reagan’s time in office as well as his Air Force One aircraft and a section of masonry from the Berlin Wall. A skeleton staff is staying at the library, even though officials posted a mandatory evacuation for the area. This image shows the view of the fast approaching fire from the view inside the presidential library Wednesday 

A chopper is pictured dropping water as the Easy Fire draws closer and closer to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, home to presidential records from the administration of Ronald Reagan and his Air Force One aircraft. The 243,000 square feet building was completed in 1991

A firefighter pictured protecting the Reagan Library from the Easy fire in Simi Valley, California on Wednesday]

Thursday morning saw two new fires erupt, sparked by the fierce Santa Ana ‘Devil Winds’ that whipped through the area. 

The 46 Fire started at the termination point of a police chase of a possible stolen vehicle, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said. 

Mandatory evacuation orders have been issued for residents south of Limonite Avenue, west of Crestmore, east of Van Buren and north of the Santa Ana River.

In the Hillside Fire at least three homes were destroyed and another 15 damaged as of 6 a.m., according to San Bernardino County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Cindy Bachma, as per CBS.

A mandatory evacuation area was issued west of Highway 18 and north of 50th Street, an area with 490 homes and 1,300 residents. Firefighters tackled the flames and 60mph Santa Ana winds. 

Harrowing footage from the Hillside inferno shows embers flying onto residential streets, burning palm trees being beat by the wind, and homes on fire.   

More than 450 firefighters and a helicopter are on the scene trying to quell the spreading flames in the midst of high winds. 

‘The wind has been the biggest factor in the fire spread,’ San Bernardino County Firefighter Chris Prater said. 

A local man watches on as his North Park neighborhood in San Bernardino goes up in the flames in the Hillside Fire 

Embers fly through the air as a home burns during the Hillside Fire in the North Park neighborhood of San Bernardino Thursday

Robyn Phipps (left) and Laura Horvitz (right) help rescue a goat from a ranch near the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley during the Easy Fire in Simi Valley, California on Wednesday

Hired goats helped protect the Ronald Reagan presidential library from going up in flames on Wednesday as the Easy Fire stopped just 50 feet from the building. The goats were hired from local company 805 Goats in May to clear around 13 acres (5 hectares) of scrub from the area and create a protective barrier around the library

Meanwhile the Hill Fire in Riverside County was wreaking havoc. The blaze broke out around 12.39am local tim and quickly entered neighborhoods, destroying at least four homes and prompting evacuations. By Wednesday evening the Hillside razed through 628 acres and was 30% contained.   

The Hill Fire is also being called the 46 Fire because it is located on the 5300 block of 46th Street. 

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday the state had secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help fight the Easy Fire. The grant allows affected local and state and agencies to apply for a 75% reimbursement of eligible fire suppression costs.