February 20, 2026 6:34 AM

Lightning Strike Starts Small Fire near Big Bear Friday Afternoon

BIG BEAR, CA. (Pain In The Pass) >> A lightning strike during a thunderstorm on Friday afternoon caused a small fire in the San Bernardino National Forest in the Big Bear area.

San Bernardino National Forest staff confirmed that the smoke was coming from a lightning strike in the Cactus Flats area east of Big Bear. Firefighters were on scene with help of multiple helicopters overhead.

The Saddlerock Fire is currently less than 0.10 acres and is located east and several miles away from Big Bear and Baldwin Lake area. They location a tree on fire with limited vegetation burning on the ground.

At this time the fire is controlled not contained.

 There is no threat to citizens or homes at this time due to its location.

Also, there is a power outage in the Big Bear Valley due to the storm.

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Cajon Pass
6:34 am, Feb 20, 2026
temperature icon 31°F
broken clouds
Humidity: 81 %
Pressure: 1015 mb
Wind: 17 mph
Wind Gust: 14 mph
Clouds: 82%
Visibility: 10 km
Sunrise: 6:29 am
Sunset: 5:37 pm
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33°/33°°F 0 mm 0% 3 mph 62% 1022 mb 0 mm/h
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32°/32°°F 0 mm 0% 5 mph 63% 1022 mb 0 mm/h