Photos: Southern California wildfire becomes 'monster'
The Southern California wildfire that began as a small midmorning patch of flame next to Interstate 15 in the Cajon Pass had by Tuesday's end turned into a 28-square-mile monster that had burned an untold number of homes.
Hundreds of cars packed with residents, belongings and animals left the town. The air for miles around the blaze was filled with smoke. The sound of explosions -- possibly from ammunition stored in homes -- could be heard in the distance.
More than 82,000 people from over 34,000 homes were under evacuation orders, said Eric Sherwin of the San Bernardino County Fire Department.
The fire erupted in a landscape ready to burn after years of drought and amid hot, dry and windy weather -- conditions not expected to begin easing until late Thursday or Friday.
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