I was hiking up Mt. Baldy when a wildfire started.
This was the Vista Fire of July 2024. I was on the Ski Hut trail and as you can see from the first photo there was the possibility that the fire would come over the ridge. So, rather than risk getting caught in its path, I continued to the summit.
Once I was on the summit I could see that they were working on the fire and trying to keep it on the other side of the ridge. Also, the wind was blowing towards the fire, not me.
And, once on top, if things had gotten real bad I could have come down the Bear Canyon trail or even gone north (although that would have been a lot riskier).
However, once I saw the full situation I scurried back down the Ski Hut trail. There was a couple on top and they appear to have taken the Devil's Backbone back (or maybe they went north).
