Norman Lesle and his wife, Michele, were among dozens of residents who resisted a mandatory evacuation order in the San Gabriel Mountain resort of Wrightwood. Even as the fast-moving Blue Cut fire leaves a trail of devastation in its path, hundreds of residents in the tiny resort town of Wrightwood are resisting a mandatory evacuation order -- much to the chagrin of authorities. Normally, San Gabriel Mountains town would be filled with roughly 4,500 residents. However, many residents fled in the face of a fierce, wind-driven blaze about two miles to the southeast. Gazing up at tree tops wobbling in the wind, she said, “Just hope embers don’t land in those pines.”

Source: Los Angeles Times August 17, 2016 16:11 UTC