
Firefighters battle the Blue Cut Fire along Swarthout Canyon Road in the Cajon Pass.
More than 700 firefighters and other emergency workers were battling the Blue Cut fire, which flared early Tuesday some 60 miles east of Los Angeles and spread rapidly along the Cajon Pass.
Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in San Bernardino County, families fled and Interstate 15 was closed as the blaze grew.
"This moved so fast," said Darren Dalton, 51, who along with his wife and son had to get out of his house in the small town of Wrightwood. "It went from 'have you heard there's a fire?' to 'mandatory evacuation' before you could take it all in ... Suddenly it's a ghost town."
Ash rained down on motorists from billowing black smoke, while aerial pictures from KNBC captured a roadside 'firenado' in which swirling gusts of wind sent flames twisting high into the air.













Comment: Could 2016 be California's worst wildfire season?