A scenic California mountain town walloped by a blizzard is now threatened by wildfire

RUNNING SPRINGS, Calif. (AP) — In the Southern California mountain town of Running Springs, residents live between two scenic lake resorts — a seemingly serene spot but one also caught between the swings of devastating winter snowstorms and menacing summer wildfires.

Niko Rynard is currently evacuated from his home due to the Line Fire, which has charred 58 square miles (150 square km) since the weekend.

About a year and a half ago, the director of the Running Springs Area Chamber of Commerce raced down the mountains during a break in the relentless snowfall his neighbors came to call “Snowmageddon.” Roads were blocked for days.

The 29-year-old, who moved to the area nine years ago from the East Coast, is now staying with friends nearby but said others are shelling out hundreds of dollars to cram into hotel rooms until it's safe to return.

The blaze is one of three major wildfires that have ravaged the mountains east of Los Angeles, destroying dozens of homes and forcing the evacuations of thousands of people. While California is only now confronting the height of wildfire season, the state already has seen nearly three times as much acreage burn than during all of 2023.

Much of this, Rynard said, “comes with the territory” and is part of living in a beautiful area. He said long-time residents have told him the massive wildfires are cyclical, much like the snow.

To add to people's rattled nerves, Southern California was rocked by a 4.7-magnitude earthquake Thursday morning.

Running Springs is dubbed the “gateway to the San Bernardino Mountains” and perched more than a mile high. The town was among the communities snowed in when a blizzard walloped the area in 2023. Now, the community has been doused with bright fire-red retardant to protect it.

“It can be tough to live in these environments,” said Dawn Rowe, a San Bernardino County supervisor whose district covers mountain communities. “It’s beautiful — a lot of people come to visit and they find they might want to relocate for one reason or another. I would encourage everybody to spend an amount of time doing their due diligence.”

The Line Fire is burning through dense vegetation that grew after two back-to-back wet winters that included snowstorms that caused tree branches to break, leaving behind a lot of “dead and down fuel,” said Cal Fire Operations Section Chief Jed Gaines. Another wildfire threatened the mountain community of Wrightwood about a 50-mile (80-kilometer) drive to the west.

The fires have threatened tens of thousands of homes and other structures across Southern California since they escalated during a triple-digit heat wave over the weekend. Cooler weather was helping firefighters slowly gain the upper hand in battling the blazes. No deaths have been reported, but at least a dozen people, mainly firefighters, have been treated for injuries, mostly heat-related, authorities said.

In one daring rescue caught on video, Cal Fire Riverside County Battalion Chief Mike Martinez saved a lone woman walking within feet of the Airport Fire in Orange County, driving his SUV up to the edge of the blistering flames so she could enter the vehicle.

“This is one of those moments ... you hope you never come across,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “I’ve been doing this for almost 30 years. We’re used to extreme fire behavior but to see a civilian walking down the middle of the street was surreal.”

Jason Anderson, district attorney for San Bernardino County, said Thursday that nine arson-related charges have been filed against a suspect accused of starting the Line Fire.

“This is particularly galling in a community that unfortunately over the last couple of years has dealt with the scourge of wildfires,” he told reporters, adding that the suspect’s vehicle has been linked to three areas where fires were started.

The suspect is due to be arraigned in court on Friday.

The full extent of the damage caused by the wildfires remains unclear. The three blazes are:

— The Airport Fire in Orange County, which has burned more than 36 square miles (93 square kilometers). The fire was 5% contained Thursday morning and was reportedly sparked by workers using heavy equipment in the area. Ten firefighters and two residents were injured in the blaze, according to the Orange County Fire Authority. The fire has been difficult to tame because of the steep terrain and dry conditions — and because some areas hadn’t burned in decades.

— The Line Fire in the San Bernardino National Forest, which was 18% contained Thursday and has threatened more than 65,000 homes. The blaze has injured three firefighters.

— The Bridge Fire east of Los Angeles, which grew tenfold in a day and has burned 80 square miles (207 square km), torched at least 33 homes and six cabins and forced the evacuation of 10,000 people. The cause of the fire is not yet known. It remained zero percent contained Thursday.

In northern Nevada, the worst danger appears to have passed near Reno where a wildfire on the Sierra’s eastern front forced 20,000 evacuations over the weekend. The blaze closed all schools for four days and threatened to burn over the top of the mountains into the Lake Tahoe basin.

Part of the state highway from Reno to Tahoe remained closed Thursday. Authorities further relaxed evacuation orders after 600 firefighters held fire lines despite winds gusting up to 70 mph (112 kph) the day before and bolstered containment of the 9-square-mile (23-square-kilometer) Davis Fire, now estimated at 37%. Most of the 8,000 residents that began the day under evacuation orders were downgraded to evacuation warnings, allowing them to begin to return to their homes.

“All containment lines ... are holding at this time,” Jason Clawson, an operations section chief for the federal firefighting team said at a briefing in Reno late Thursday. “Absolutely no concerns. We have crews, equipment, engines all spread out around the entire fire.”

Garcia reported from Wrightwood, California, Taxin from Santa Ana, California, and Rodriguez from San Francisco. Associated Press writers Scott Sonner in Reno, Nevada; Amy Hanson in Helena, Montana; Jaimie Ding in Los Angeles and Thomas Peipert in Denver contributed.

Smoke is seen from the advancing Line Fire through a car window in Mentone, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

Firefighting hand crews cut lines against the advancing Line Fire in Running Springs, Calif., Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

FILE - The Line Fire jumps Highway 330 as an emergency vehicle is driven past Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, near Running Springs, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer, File)

A vehicle and surrounding forest are burned after the Bridge Fire swept through Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Wrightwood, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

FILE - Kenny Rybak shovels snow around his car in Running Springs, Calif., Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

FILE - A truck drives along snow berms in Running Springs, Calif., Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

Fire Crews stand on property damaged by the Airport Fire Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in El Cariso Village, in unincorporated Riverside County, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

This image released by Maxar Technologies shows fires near Snow Valley Mountain Resort in Running Springs, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies via AP)

This image released by Maxar Technologies shows fires in Running Springs, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies via AP)

Fire crews examine a property damaged by the Airport Fire Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in El Cariso Village, in unincorporated Riverside County, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Charred vehicles are left behind after the Airport Fire swept through Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in El Cariso Village, in unincorporated Riverside County, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Matt Howe sifts through his partially damaged property after the Airport Fire swept through Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in El Cariso Village, in unincorporated Riverside County, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Matt Howe sifts through his partially damaged property after the Airport Fire swept through Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in El Cariso Village, in unincorporated Riverside County, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

FILE - The Line Fire jumps Highway 330 as an emergency vehicle is driven past Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, near Running Springs, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer, File)

FILE - Smoke from the Line Fire fills the air Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Running Springs, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer, File)

A jogger passes in front of haze from various wildfires over the downtown skyline Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

A partially burned flag is placed on a property in the aftermath off the Airport Fire Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in El Cariso Village, in unincorporated Riverside, County, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Rich Meyr, 82, left, and Evelyn Kelley, 77, sit at an evacuation center for those in the path of regional wildfires, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Reno, Nevada. The two were the first — and so far only - arrivals at a new evacuation center set up Wednesday at a recreation center in south Reno where the Red Cross was prepared to handle 100 or more people if necessary. (AP Photo/Scott Sonner)

A firefighter douses flames in the perimeter of a property while battling the Bridge Fire Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Wrightwood, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

Firefighters hose down hot spots on a fire-ravaged property while battling the Bridge Fire, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Wrightwood, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

A reporter takes cell phone images of the devastation left behind by the Airport Fire, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in El Cariso Village, in unincorporated Riverside County, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

A fire-ravaged property is seen after the Airport Fire swept through Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in El Cariso Village, in unincorporated Riverside, County, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

A fire-ravaged property is seen after the Airport Fire swept through Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in El Cariso Village, in unincorporated Riverside, County, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

The Bridge Fire sends a plume of smoke over properties Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Piñon Hills in San Bernardino County, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

Firefighters hose down hot spots on a fire-ravaged property while battling the Bridge Fire Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Wrightwood, Calif. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)

Fire crews battle the Bridge Fire Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Wrightwood, Calif. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)

A firefighter hoses down hot spots on a fire-ravaged property while battling the Bridge Fire Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Wrightwood, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

A firefighter douses flames in the perimeter of a property while battling the Bridge Fire Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Wrightwood, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

A vehicle and surrounding forest are burned after the Bridge Fire swept through Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Wrightwood, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

A firefighter hoses down hot spots on a fire-ravaged property while battling the Bridge Fire Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Wrightwood, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

A firefighter stands over burned landscape Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, near El Cariso Village, in unincorporated Riverside, County, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Haze from various wildfires hangs over the downtown skyline Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

Firefighters hose down hot spots on a fire-ravaged property while battling the Bridge Fire Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Wrightwood, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

A firefighter hoses down hot spots on a fire-ravaged property while battling the Bridge Fire Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Wrightwood, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

A firefighter douses flames in the perimeter of a property while battling the Bridge Fire Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Wrightwood, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

Members of Riverside County Cal Fire walk up a hillside while battling the Airport Fire Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in El Cariso Village, in unincorporated Riverside, County, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

A Riverside County Fire Dept. firefighter monitors for hot spots overlooking Lake Elsinore after the Airport Fire swept through Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in El Cariso Village, in unincorporated Riverside, County, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Members of Riverside County Cal Fire monitor for hot spots while battling the Airport Fire Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in El Cariso Village, in unincorporated Riverside, County, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

A firefighter works to contain the Bridge Fire Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, Wrightwood, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

AVIGNON, France (AP) — A 71-year-old French man admitted in court Tuesday that for nearly a decade, he repeatedly drugged his unwitting wife and invited dozens of men to rape her while she lay unconscious in their bed.

His wife of 50 years, who has divorced him since his arrest, also got to speak, telling the court that she feels completely betrayed.

In a trial that has gripped France and raised awareness about sexual violence in the home and beyond, Dominique Pélicot told the court that he also raped his wife, Gisèle Pélicot, and that the 50 men standing trial alongside him understood exactly what they were doing.

“Today I maintain that, along with the other men here, I am a rapist,″ Dominique Pélicot testified. “They knew everything. They can’t say otherwise.”

Pélicot’s testimony marked the most important moment yet in a trial that has shocked the world. Although he previously confessed to investigators, his court testimony will be crucial for the panel of judges to decide on the fate of his co-defendants, who range in age from 26 to 74. Many of them deny having raped Gisèle Pélicot, saying her then-husband had manipulated them or that they believed she was consenting.

Many following the case also hope his testimony might help explain why Dominique Pélicot would subject the mother of his three children to such unconscionable abuse.

Gisèle Pélicot has become a hero to many rape victims and a symbol of the fight against sexual violence in France for agreeing to waive her anonymity in the case, letting the trial be public and appearing openly in front of the media. She shows up every day, passing through the courthouse security line behind men accused of raping her. As she left court during a break Tuesday, supporters brought her flowers.

After days of delay due to what his lawyers said was a kidney stone and urinary tract infection, Dominique Pélicot, seated in a wheelchair, testified that the charges against him are true. With his ex-wife looking on from the packed gallery and his voice trembling and barely audible at times, he started a long day of testimony trying to explain childhood traumas that he said scarred and molded him into the person he became.

“One is not born a pervert, one becomes a pervert,” Pélicot told the judges after recounting, sometimes in tears, being raped by a male hospital nurse at age 9 and being forced to take part in a gang rape at age 14.

Pélicot also said that for years, his father sexually abused a young girl his family had taken in, and that his brother later said their father had invited other men to do the same.

He regretted that his parents didn't let him continue his studies after he turned 14. He said that around that time, he tried to persuade his mother to leave the house with him, but “she never wanted to.”

“I don’t really want to talk about this, I am just ashamed of my father. In the end, I didn’t do any better,'' said Pélicot, who faces 20 years in prison if convicted.

After he spoke about his difficult upbringing, Gisèle Pélicot was given the opportunity to address the court.

“It is hard for me to hear this. For 50 years, I lived with a man. I couldn’t imagine even one second that he could have committed acts of rape,″ she said. “I trusted this man entirely.″

The two looked at each other, him from behind the dock’s glass window and her from the witness stand.

“I am guilty,” he told her. “I regret everything I did. I ask you for forgiveness, even if it is unpardonable.”

Asked if she wanted to respond, Gisèle Pélicot turned and left the stand.

When asked about his feelings toward his ex-wife, Dominique Pélicot said she didn't deserve what he did.

“From my youth, I remember only shocks and traumas, forgotten partly thanks to her,” he said in tears.

At that moment, Gisèle Pélicot put on her sunglasses.

Later, Dominique Pélicot said, “I was crazy about her. She replaced everything. I ruined everything.”

A supermarket security guard caught Pélicot in 2020 secretly shooting video up women’s skirts, according to court documents. During a search of his house and electronic devices, police found thousands of photos and videos of men engaging in sexual acts with Gisèle Pélicot while she appeared to be unconscious in bed.

With the recordings, police were able to track down most of the 72 suspects they were seeking, but not all.

In addition to the photos and videos of Gisèle Pélicot, investigators found photos of the Pelicots' daughter, Caroline Darian, and two daughters-in-law that were surreptitiously taken while they were in their underwear, getting undressed or taking showers, according to authorities.

While her mother has stayed remarkably calm throughout the trial, Darian walked out of the courtroom Tuesday as her father was being asked about photos of her that were found on his laptop.

″Excuse me, I’m going to vomit,″ she said angrily before rushing out. She has written a book about what happened to her family, called ″And I Stopped Calling you Daddy.″

After retiring, the Pélicots moved from the Paris region to a house in Mazan, a small town in the Provence region.

When police officers called Gisèle Pélicot in for questioning in late 2020, she initially told them her husband was “a great guy,″ according to legal documents. They then showed her some photos. She left and later divorced her husband.

Since Dominique Pélicot’s arrest, other cases have surfaced. He was fined after being caught shooting video of a women’s crotch in 2010 and required to see a psychologist. Gisèle Pélicot has said she never knew about this incident.

Under French law, the proceedings inside the courtroom cannot be filmed or photographed. Dominique Pélicot has been brought into the court through a special entrance that's inaccessible for the media, because he and some other defendants are being held in custody during the trial and can't be filmed. Defendants who are not in custody have been arriving at the courthouse wearing surgical masks or hoods to avoid having their faces filmed or photographed.

Among those hoping to secure a seat to watch the Tuesday's proceedings was Bernadette Tessonière, a 69-year-old retiree who lives a half-hour drive from Avignon, where the trial is taking place.

“How is it possible that in 50 years of communal life, one can live next to someone who hides his life so well? This is scary,” she said.

Gisele Pelicot arrives at the Avignon court house, in Avignon, southern France, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. Her ex-husband admitted in court that for nearly a decade, he repeatedly drugged his unwitting wife and invited dozens of men to rape her while she lay unconscious. (AP Photo/Diane Jantet)

Gisele Pelicot arrives at the Avignon court house, in Avignon, southern France, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. Her ex-husband admitted in court that for nearly a decade, he repeatedly drugged his unwitting wife and invited dozens of men to rape her while she lay unconscious. (AP Photo/Diane Jantet)

Gisele Pelicot exits the Avignon court house, in Avignon, southern France, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, after her ex-husband admitted in court that for nearly a decade, he repeatedly drugged his unwitting wife and invited dozens of men to rape her while she lay unconscious. (AP Photo/Diane Jantet)

FILE - Police officers walk in the Avignon court house prior to the trial of Dominique Pelicot, in Avignon, southern France, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly, File)

FILE - Gisele Pelicot speaks to media as she leaves the Avignon court house, southern France, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly, File)

FILE - Gisele Pelicot, left, arrives in the Avignon court house, in Avignon, southern France, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly, File)

FILE - Gisele Pelicot, left, arrives in the Avignon court house, in Avignon, southern France, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly, File)