Crime & Safety
3 Brush Fires Burning Along I-215
Motorists advised to use caution when on the freeway.
MURRIETA, CA —The Murrieta Fire and Rescue Department is at the scene this afternoon of three vegetation fires burning along Interstate 215 in the Murrieta region, according to officials.
Drivers are advised to use caution when passing emergency vehicles along the freeway, the agency said.
A wildfire also erupted Wednesday in the hills southwest of Aguanga blackening roughly four acres before it was stopped.
The non-injury blaze was reported at 11:37 a.m. south of state Route 79 along the Crosley Truck Trail, on U.S. Forest Service land, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.
Four Cal Fire air tankers and a water-dropping helicopter deployed to the location ahead of engine crews and laid retardant lines on all sides of the brusher, leaving it few places to expand.
More than 130 personnel trudged over rugged terrain to reach the blaze, and by 1:50 p.m., the fire's forward rate of spread had been stopped. No homes or other structures were threatened, and there was no word on what might have triggered the blaze.
And a few miles southwest of Mountain Center today, a 167-acre brush fire burning in the San Bernardino National Forest was 90 percent contained Wednesday afternoon.
"Crews are continuing to extinguish hot spots, (and) they will pull hose before the end of their shift," according to a U.S. Forest Service statement. The Bautista Fire was reported about 7:25 p.m. Sunday northeast of Bautista Road, near the South Fork River, according to the USFS.
Agency spokesman Zach Behrens said that at the height of the blaze, 300 firefighters worked to encircle it. However, many personnel have since returned to their bases.
Riverside County Fire Department Chief Shawn Newman told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that favorable weather conditions, including minimal winds and cooler temperatures, aided crews in solidifying containment lines.
No homes or other structures were threatened by the fire. The cause is under investigation.
--Patch will update on the Murrieta fires when more information is released.
ALSO SEE: Dry, Gusty Conditions Create Increased Fire Risk In Riverside Co.
--City News Service contributed to this post
