Update as of 9am Tuesday, September 18: The cause of the Butler #2 Fire still remains under investigation, but progress on the blaze has been substantial in the last 24 hours. As of last night, Incident Command reported that containment is now at 53%, which is a considerable effort from yesterday morning's report of just 12% containment. The revised tally in terms of burned territory is now 14,039 acres, down from 15,433.
The Butler #2 Fire remains the top priority wildland fire incident in the nation, which assures us the necessary resources, including CalFire's DC-10, to battle the blaze. The terrain difficulty has been labeled as high, as rugged terrain on the fire's south and southeast flanks, along Highways 18 and 38, have proven challenging. Fire personnel will continue line construction on the west and south perimeters of the fire today, and will continue to provide structure protection in Fawnskin, as well as Lucerne Valley, Green Valley, and the roadway along Highway 18 at Arctic Circle. Resources have been concentrated just west of Fawnskin.
Per the U.S. Forest Service, personnel on the Butler #2 Fire is now up to 2,505. This includes 68 handcrews, 250 engines from throughout California, 12 dozers, 33 water tenders, and 23 helicopters.
All homes in Fawnskin remain intact, and hand crews have been on scene, creating defensible space around residences, by removing flammable vegetation. Crews are positioned between the fire and exposed structures in order to provide protection. At this time, the only structures to have burned as a result of the Butler #2 Fire are three sheds at Camp Whittle, though the rest of the camp has been spared at this time. Hanna Flat Campground was also burned, per a report on Saturday.
There is still no estimated reopen date for Highway 18, which remains closed from just west of Boulder Bay, which includes Little Arctic Circle and the Big Bear Dam, and down to Highway 330 at Running Springs.
At this time, there is also no scheduled return date for residents of Fawnskin. Rocky Obliger, a Deputy Chief with the San Bernardino National Forest who has led the Incident Command as the leader of national Incident Management Team 1 since Monday morning, has said that return to residences would be after containment. He pointed out that the main thing is they don't want to have to re-evacuate Fawnskin after a premature return. The evacuation center that had been established at Big Bear High School has been relocated to Pine Summit Christian Camp at 700 Wren Drive in Big Bear Lake, as school is back in session today. Fawnskin residents will have access to mail delivery at the Big Bear City Post Office, from 1 to 3pm each day during the mandatory evacuation.