Brush Fire Ignites Near Beaumont Off Highway 79

5:24 P.M. NOV. 14, 2023, UPDATE:

2nd Fire Breaks Out On Highway 79 South Of Beaumont, Road Closed Again

A Sigalert was issued around 5 p.m. Tuesday for all northbound Highway 79 lanes. The CHP reports the closure is expected to be "long-term."

1:20 P.M. NOV. 14, 2023, UPDATE:

BEAUMONT, CA — A brush fire that erupted Tuesday near a Riverside County landfill just over a mile south of Beaumont scorched 13 acres before it was stopped.

The non-injury brusher was reported at 10:20 a.m. in the area Lamb Canyon Road and Highway 79, according to Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department.

The agency said that multiple engine and hand crews from the county and city of Hemet were sent to the location and encountered flames moving at a slow rate across open space near the northbound side of the highway.

Three Cal Fire air tankers and a water-dropping helicopter based at Hemet-Ryan Airport less than 10 miles to the south initiated a series of runs on the blaze that stopped its forward rate of spread in less than an hour, enabling crews to encircle and establish tentative containment lines.

As of 1 p.m., the fire was largely knocked down.

Because of firefighters' activity along the northbound 79, the California Highway Patrol shut down that side of the corridor, forcing motorists to detour onto Gilman Springs Road to reach the Moreno Valley (60) Freeway or Interstate 10.

The closure was slated to remain in effect until 3 p.m.

No homes were in the immediate vicinity of the brusher. However, the county's Lamb Canyon Landfill was just to the south of where the blaze started.

The cause of the fire was under investigation.

—By City News Service

NOV. 14, 2023, ORIGINAL POST:

BEAUMONT, CA — Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department firefighters worked to halt a 5-acre wildfire near Lamb Canyon Road and Highway 79, also known as Beaumont Avenue.

According to Cal Fire spokesperson April Newman, the fire was burning roughly two miles south of Beaumont and was reported just before 10:30 a.m. Tuesday morning.

"Firefighters are on the scene of a vegetation fire burning through light, flashy fuels," Newman said.

Highway 79 near Lamb Canyon Road was closed temporarily in both directions as of 11 a.m. as firefighters attempted to halt the blaze from the air and the ground. As of noon, the northbound lanes remained closed amid the firefight.

After smoke was sighted, multiple engine and hand crews from the county and city of Hemet were sent to the location and encountered flames moving slowly across open space near the highway.

Three Cal Fire air tankers and a water-dropping helicopter based at Hemet-Ryan Airport, less than 10 miles to the south, took to the skies to make runs on the blaze before ground crews deployed, according to reports from the scene.

The drops slowed the flames, which were not near homes. However, the county's Lamb Canyon Landfill was just south of where the blaze started.

The cause of the brusher was not immediately known.

—By Patch Editor Ashley Ludwig

#lambsfire Lambs Canyon Fire making good progress #calfire pic.twitter.com/PfsuML2yl6
— FirePhotoGirl (@FirePhotoGirl) November 14, 2023