Running Springs, Green Valley tally: 100 homes lost

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By 10:30 a.m. the mountain communities of Running Springs and Green Valley had lost a combined 100 houses at least. At the hour, however, it appeared that the fire had skirted the rustic downtown of Running Springs, U.S. Forest Service spokesman Bob Poole said. But homes outside the town center continued to catch fire.

Along with the usual signs of devastation -- lone chimneys and blackened rubble -- were some incongruous scenes. At three houses burned to the ground, pipes from the household plumbing survived and the water still flowed, creating mini-geysers that tossed water up about eight inches even as the scene smoldered.

The heat rising off the houses created optical illusions as well, like a wobbly, waving highway in a desert. Blacked trees viewed through the heat appeared to shimmer.

On one block, six vehicles -- two pickups, three sedans and a van -- were parked facing nose-out at the ends of driveways, ready to escape. The residents of the houses were nowhere to be found, but the six vehicles, now burned hulks, sat in their driveways.

-- Louis Sahagun