A brush fire in the Badlands southwest of Calimesa that has burned 2,600 acres and prompted evacuation orders and warnings was 25% contained Tuesday morning, the Riverside County Fire Department reported.
The Shore Fire was reported initially at 3:23 p.m. Monday in a sparsely populated area close to Lake Shore Drive and San Timoteo Canyon Road, officials said. The terrain in the fire zone is difficult to negotiate on foot.
Firefighters on the scene Tuesday totaled 255 with air, engine and hand crews from the county, Hemet Fire Department, Palm Springs Fire Department and Cal Fire-San Bernardino County. Firefighting efforts were focused on the north side of the rugged terrain stretching between Interstate 10 to the north and the Moreno Valley (60) Freeway to the south.
The fire had burned 120 acres of vegetation by approximately 5 p.m. and 500 acres as of 6 p.m. Monday, Cal Fire reported.
An evacuation order was issued at 6 p.m. for the area with scattered residential and commercial properties on the perimeter of the fire bordered by San Timoteo Canyon Road and the 60 Freeway resulting in an immediate threat to life, the Riverside County Fire Department announced.
An evacuation order at 7:12 p.m. was in effect for the adjacent area between San Timoteo Canyon Road and the 60.
An evacuation center for area residents and their pets was set up at Valley View High School in Moreno Valley. Evacuees with large animals can take them to the San Jacinto Valley Animal Campus in San Jacinto.
The 60 freeway was shut down Monday night for several hours, officials said.
Information on road closures is available from the California Highway Patrol’s website.
The fire had expanded to 1,500 acres with zero containment by 8:15 p.m. Monday and reached 2,053 acres by 12:04 a.m. Tuesday with 20% containment, according to Cal Fire.
Two Cal Fire water-dropping helicopters and five air tankers started fighting the fire by 4:20 p.m. The state agency’s contract Very Large Air Tanker, or VLAT is a large plane, usually a DC-10 or Boeing 767, that can carry more than 8,000 gallons of water, was requested Monday afternoon.
The cause of the fire was not known, according to Cal Fire.
