Crews made significant progress on the Lake Fire in San Bernardino County as the forward rate of spread was stopped by Sunday afternoon.

Evacuations were downgraded early Sunday evening, as containment rose to 15%. The spread was capped at 485 acres, according to Cal Fire.

The Lake Fire was first reported at about 4 p.m. Saturday near the recreation area located just south of Hesperia in the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains. Large amounts of resources were quickly deployed as Cal Fire estimated it had the potential to spread across 1,000 acres due to dry and windy conditions.

Crews were able to control the spread on Sunday morning, however, limiting damage. According to Cal Fire, 30 structures were threatened, but none were damaged.

Cal Fire, the San Bernardino County Fire Department and San Bernardino National Forest crews assisted with firefighting efforts.

Evacuation zones

Evacuation orders were downgraded to warnings at around 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Evacuated areas included the Silverwood Lake area and the region south of Highway 138 from Highway 173 to Summit Valley Road. 

An evacuation warning was ordered for the area north of Highway 138 and Highway 173 from Summit Valley Road to Arrowhead Lake Road at 8 p.m. 

The SBCFD said anyone who left a vehicle in the Silverwood Lake recreation area can retrieve them by driving to a road closure to be assisted by the California Highway Patrol.

Firefighters busy

The Lake Fire was just one of several brush fires to break out across the Inland Empire over the weekend. The Smiley Fire also burned in San Bernardino County on Saturday afternoon before crews gained the upper hand, and on Sunday there were several fires reported in Riverside County, including the quickly-growing Wolf Fire near Banning, the Mandalay Fire that forced evacuations in Riverside and the Mindy Fire burning in a remote area near Sage and Aguanga. 

Dean Fioresi contributed to this report.