Terror on California freeway as people abandon cars, flee fire

A burned boat sits on southbound Interstate 15 on July 17, 2015, in the Cajon Pass in California.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Firefighters at Baldy Mesa Road and Mesquite Street near the head of the fire in Baldy Mesa in California on July 17, 2015.  (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Traffic backs up in the southbound lanes of Interstate 15 near Victorville, Calif., after a brush fire swept over the freeway July 17, 2015.  (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

A brush fire burns near Baldy Mesa in the San Bernardino Mountains on July 17, 2015, after the blaze jumped Interstate 15 in California.  (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

Firefighters use small headlamps at night to battle flames from the 3,500-acre brush fire after it ripped through the Cajon Pass and headed north July 17, 2015, in Baldy Mesa, Calif.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Burned cars sit on southbound Interstate 15 on July 17, 2015, after a fire jumped the freeway, forcing people to abandon their cars in Southern California’s Cajon Pass.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Firefighters stand amid the smoking wreckage of cars July 17, 2015, on Interstate 15 near Phelan, Calif. Dozens of people were forced to abandon their cars.   (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

The melted shell of a big rig after a fast-moving brush fire forced drivers and passengers to abandon their vehicles July 17, 2015, in Southern California’s Cajon Pass.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

The aftermath of a brush fire that jumped Interstate 15 on July 17, 2015, in San Bernardino County, Calif.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)