Evacuations underway as Line Fire burns over 20,500 acres

UPDATE (1:03 PM): According to a post on the U.S. Forest Service - San Bernardino National Forest's Facebook page, the Line Fire has grown 20,553 acres and is 3% contained.

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, Calif. (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - Evacuations are underway in California as the Line Fire has spread an additional 10,000 acres in 24 hours, threatening thousands of structures.

Families who live in and around the San Bernardino National Forest are watching the Line Fire minute by minute, ready to leave at a moments notice.

"Just keeping track until it's time for us to go, which it looks like it is, we just got an order to leave, so we're packing up and leaving soon," said Desiree Armstrong, a county resident.

Armstrong and her family live in Mountain Home Village as the county issued a mandatory evacuation order around 5:30pm.

One woman placed her they cats in crates in the car and told them "they know the drill."

Up the mountain in Angeles Oaks, families remained under an evacuation watch Sunday evening, but Scott Swift says they know the drill too.

"You know, loading pictures and important papers, getting the trailer ready, putting the generators in the back of the truck, just in case," Swift explained.

But Swift, like some others, say they'll only leave if they absolutely have to.

"Nobody's come and told us to get out, so we're still here, but we'll be ready. We're hooked up so when the time comes, we're gone," Swift expressed.

Fire officials say a short afternoon rain slowed the spread of the fire, but they continued evacuations, predicting it to spread east sometime Monday morning, closing down Highway 38 to all traffic at sunset.

One couple had just landed from a trip at LAX and were racing to get home.

"We hightailed it here as fast as we can, and now they've got the access point closed off, so we're really worried. We have to get our pets, we have to get medicines, a family member," said Brad Robertson, a Forest Falls resident.