Palm Springs sits in a basin between Mt. San Jacinto to the west and Mt. Gorgonio to the east. There is a natural funnel created between these two mountains that sends sheets of sand blowing every time we have wind, and it follows I-10 from west to east. Today, the basin is shrouded in grey and black clouds of smoke due to a forest fire, The Cranston Fire, that is burning on the western side of Mt. San Jacinto and heading toward Hemet. We can see the deep red halo created by the flames along the top ridge of the mountains, but, so far, it has not climbed to the top and crested into the basin.
This fire was deliberately set by an arsonist who drove along the main thoroughfare through the small city of Idyllwild. He lit flares and threw them out of his car window; thankfully, someone got a make/model and license plate and the man was found in Hemet, where he was arrested. But he left behind a huge conflagration that is roaring out of control. If it summits and comes down the valley side of Mt. San Jacinto, it could easily destroy all of the population centers between the mountain and I-10 as there would be nothing to stop it. Palm Springs sits at the bottom of the mountain range, and it would not take much to drive a fire straight across the valley basin.
The wind is still blowing strongly, so everyone is hoping that the winds die down overnight and give fire-fighters a chance to get a hand on the fire.
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The fire has moved to the southeast, away from the Palm Springs area, so no major housing area in its path. The winds have made this a challenging fire fight, but it seems that the efforts to contain it have been more successful than not.
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