Crews make progress in battle against Calif. wildfires

Some 2,700 firefighters labored in triple-digit heat. Fire officials said it was still important to establish a line to keep flames from moving into the wilderness of dead trees on the slopes leading up to resort communities.

``It's a real critical piece of line if we can construct it and hold it," said James Yazloff, a captain with the California Department of Forestry. ``It's very critical we don't allow it to go up to Big Bear."

Several thousand people live near Big Bear Lake, which went through its last big scare in Southern California's onslaught of devastating wildfires in 2003.

The Sawtooth blaze, which has destroyed 45 homes and 118 outbuildings since it was sparked by lightning a week ago on the Mojave Desert floor , was 20 percent contained.

The wildfire remained a threat to 1,500 homes, 1,500 outbuildings, and about 50 commercial buildings, said Kristel Johnson of the Forest Service.

``It's still just kind of an ongoing battle. There's definitely some progress." said Don Roberts, a ranger at Joshua Tree National Park.

Southwest of the Sawtooth, the Millard fire already was in timber in the San Gorgonio Wilderness. But it was south of Big Bear and winds gusting to 25 miles per hour were pushing it away from that area, said Jim Wilkins, a Forest Service spokesman. About 75 homes and a fish hatchery were in its path, however.

Authorities had told residents of Big Bear on Thursday that there was little chance the fire would reach their homes. But just in case, sheriff's deputies warned residents east of Big Bear Lake that they should be ready to evacuate.

The merger could produce an ultrahot fire front that produces its own unpredictable winds, officials said, or the joining of the two blazes could essentially create firebreaks by quickly burning up brush in each fire's path.

``They're going to burn each other out in that area," predicted Tracey Martinez, a spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County Fire Department .

A chance of thunderstorms over the weekend brought concerns that blazes might erupt in parched stretches of the Mojave Desert and its foothills.