3 kids, woman killed in Christmas morning fire in mobile home

BIG BEAR LAKE, Calif. (AP) — Three children and a woman have been killed in a Southern California mobile home fire on Christmas morning.


The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office says the fire was reported in Big Bear Lake just before 6 a.m. Friday. A deputy arrived to find a mobile home fully engulfed in flames and an injured man outside.

The man told the deputy that there were four others still inside but he couldn't get in because of the extent of the blaze.

The sheriff's office says Big Bear Lake firefighters arrived and attempted rescue efforts but had to pull back because the roof was about to collapse.

The injured man was airlifted to a hospital for treatment in unknown condition.

Neighbor Travis Byrne told KTLA  in Los Angeles that his wife was feeding their 7-month-old son around 5:45 a.m. when she saw the fire and woke him up. He said in a phone interview that he saw flames coming from the mobile home and immediately called 911.

Byrne  said he saw a man come out of the house wearing pajamas and flip flops, and that he was burned -- his feet and hands were bloodied and he had black smoke residue on him.

At one point, firefighters were able to bring the badly burned woman out of the house.

“They pulled her from the house and tried resuscitating her, and they were unsuccessful,” Byrne said.

He added, “All the three children were inside. And we haven’t seen them come out yet.”

Officials confirmed that a woman and three children died in the fire. Their identities and ages have not been released.