At least three structures were destroyed and six others damaged as a wildfire continued to burn Tuesday in Riverside County, where about 4,000 people were under mandatory evacuation orders.
The Highland fire began around 12:37 p.m. Pacific time Monday in the unincorporated neighborhood of Aguanga and quickly exploded in size as it met with strong Santa Ana winds and dried vegetation. At least 15 additional structures are threatened by the 2,200-acre blaze, which had 0% containment, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.
More than 300 firefighters are battling the fire from the air and ground, according to Rob Roseen, a public information officer with Cal Fire in Riverside County.
Winds are coming out of the southeast and pushing the fire northwest, although there is some spread in all directions, he said. A wind advisory remains in effect until 8 p.m. across much of the Inland Empire region, including Riverside County, with gusts of up to 50 mph possible, according to the National Weather Service.
“We’re looking at single-digit humidity this afternoon,” said Philip Gonsalves, a meteorologist with the weather service in San Diego, which includes Riverside County in its coverage area. “So from a weather perspective, conditions are favorable for fire growth.”
Evacuation orders remain in place for residents south of Sage Road and Golden Eagle Drive, north of Cottonwood Creek, west of Boulder Vista and east of Becker Lane, as well as residents south of Highway 371, west of Sorensen Road and north of the San Diego County line.
An additional evacuation order was issued at 6:20 a.m. Tuesday for residents south of Highway 79, north of the San Diego County line, east of Forest Route 8S07 and west of Crosely Truck Trail.
An evacuation warning is in effect for areas east of Vail Lake, west of Shirley Way, south of Pueblo Drive and Exa Ely Road, and north of David Street. An evacuation warning is also in effect for areas west of the Cahuilla Tribal Reservation Boundary and north of County Line Road.
A reception center has been opened at Great Oak High School in Temecula. Large and small animals can be taken to the San Jacinto Animal Shelter.
In total, approximately 1,139 homes are under evacuation orders, and 489 homes under an evacuation warning, Cal Fire officials said.
“We just ask that the public please remain vigilant,” public information officer Maggie Cline De La Rosa said in a video update. “If you received an evacuation order, please leave. If you received an evacuation warning, please continue to pay close attention to those.”
The fire is burning in an area that only recently was saturated by Tropical Storm Hilary, a rare storm that tore through swaths of Southern California in August. Gonsalves, of the weather service, said the storm’s rainfall contributed to “green-up” in the area, or the growth of new grasses, which may have subsequently dried out and could be feeding the fire.
It’s something experts warned of in the weeks after Hilary made landfall. Nick Schuler, Cal Fire’s deputy director of communications and emergency incident awareness, said in September that fire season was not over and that a prolonged wind event could still fan a blaze.
“When you have Santa Ana winds — winds that come from the east and blow to the west — it dries everything out,” Schuler said. “If you look at some of the largest fires in California’s history, especially Southern California, they started later in the year.”
The dry, windy conditions fueled several other small fires across the state, including the Lizzie fire in San Luis Obispo, which was 35% contained at 100 acres Tuesday morning. Crews in San Diego were also battling a small brush fire near Interstate 805 in Kearny Mesa, according to Fox 5 San Diego.
In the unincorporated area of Aromas, on the border of San Benito and Monterey counties, a small fire ignited around 2 a.m. Tuesday and prompted brief evacuation orders. The fire was contained to a small water district maintenance yard, officials said.
Roseen, of Cal Fire, said Tuesday that the Highland fire is burning in light grasses and medium brush. Remote mountaintop cameras in the area showed billowing plumes of white smoke.
“We’ll have an increased augmentation of ground resources today,” he said. “They’ll be bolstered by numerous resources that will be working in the area, as well as our fixed-wing and helicopter assets that will be working over the fire throughout the day to try to build some containment on this.”
Roseen could not immediately confirm what types of structures had been destroyed. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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