As the Apple Fire continued to rage this week, spreading more than 43 miles through remote, mountainous terrain near Banning, the Morongo Band of Mission Indians has been caught on its perimeter.
An upper portion of the tribe's reservation has been singed by flames, while its more populated lower half was bisected by evacuation notices.
But Morongo is also playing a critical role in battling the blaze, which had burned 28,085 acres by Thursday afternoon. The tribe's own Morongo Fire Department is responding alongside other units, and its reservation is being used as a staging area for equipment and crews from across the western United States. Water-dropping aircraft are also refilling their tanks on tribal land between drops.
As of Thursday, overall containment of the Apple Fire hovered at 30%, as the many crews of wildland firefighters worked to control the fire and construct fire breaks, assisted by a contingent of fire engines, bulldozers and helicopters. Nearly 2,600 personnel are involved.