125-Acre Casino Fire In Anza 70% Contained

ANZA, CA — A brush fire that broke out Monday near the Cahuilla Casino in Anza charred 125 acres and threatened a mobile home park, prompting the closure of a highway, before crews got the upper hand.

As of 8 a.m. Tuesday, the "Casino" fire was 70 percent contained, according to Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department.

The non-injury blaze was reported at 3:08 p.m. in the area of Cary Road and Highway 371, a half-mile east of the casino, and briefly threatened 20 properties in and around the Anza Pines Mobile Home Park, just south of Highway 371 and west of Anza Trail.

Nearly 200 Riverside County Fire Department personnel were assisted by four Cal Fire air tankers and two water-dropping helicopters that made repeated runs on the brusher, preventing it from reaching the structures.

According to reports from the scene, some residents voluntarily evacuated, but no mandatory evacuations by Cahuilla Indian Reservation authorities or sheriff's deputies were ordered.

The California Highway Patrol shut down Highway 371 between Homestead Road to the west, in front of the casino, and Howard Road to the east for public safety.

The blaze was in the vicinity of two other brush fires that burned more than 30 acres last week, though both of those brushers were on the north side of the highway.

The cause of the current blaze was under investigation.

—City News Service contributed to this report.