79S Blaze Smolders Into Friday: 40 Acres Charred, 95% Contained

AGUANGA, CA — A brush fire quickly burned through 36 acres Thursday near Aguanga, leading emergency responders to close roads and temporarily evacuate residents from the area, according to Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department.

Overnight, firefighter crews focused on repression repair and contained the fire to 95%, according to Cal Fire. "Due to flare-ups appearing throughout the night into the morning, resources will continue patrolling the area until full containment."

The blaze was initially reported at 12:02 p.m. in the 44700 block of State Route 79 South, near Oropeza Road in Aguanga.

According to incident command, firefighters had made "good progress" and had halted the forward rate of spread as of 2 p.m., Cal Fire said. Evacuation orders were downgraded to warnings and closed roadways were reopened by 5 p.m. Thursday.

Dubbed the Golden Fire, smoke could be seen for miles as the fire burned through "light flashy fuels at a moderate rate of spread," according to Cal Fire spokesperson Karina Espinoza, who added that Structures were threatened in this incident. Helicopters conducted an air attack and worked to squelch the brusher and multiple engines and ground crews.

During the firefight, officials closed roads at State Highway 371 and Highway 79 and Sage Road at Highway 79.

Four Riverside County zones were given evacuation warnings due to the blaze, with earlier evacuation orders reduced.

Evacuation Warnings:

Evacuation Warnings were given in:

- RVC 2366
- RVC 2386

• North of County Line
• East of White Mountain Rd.
• West of High Point Truck Trail
• South of Highway 79

Link to affected zones: https://go.genasys.com/kbdz49

- RVC 2321
- RVC 2367

• North of County Line
• East of White Mountain Rd.
• West of Silent Valley Rd.
• South of El Pasta Rd.

Link to affected zones : https://go.genasys.com/uwio0v

Hard Road Closures:

- Highway 371 X Highway 79
- Sage x Highway 79