Brush Fire Erupts Near I-10 In Beaumont, Prompting Evacuations

BEAUMONT, CA — A brush fire that broke out just south of Interstate 10 in Beaumont Friday spread across 105 acres within hours and evacuations on the southern edge of the city remain in place Saturday.

What the Riverside County Fire Department has dubbed the Highland Fire was reported 25 percent contained as of 5 a.m. Saturday.

The fire was reported around 3 p.m. along Highland Springs Avenue and Sunningdale Street, near Breckenridge Avenue, according to a department official.

Engine and hand crews from several departments, including the Soboba Reservation Fire Department, were sent to the location and encountered flames moving at a "critical rate," according to the fire department.

The RCFD initially indicated that the fire had grown to 225 acres within about an hour, but the size was later downgraded thanks to "more accurate mapping," an official said.

Cal Fire air tankers and water-dropping helicopters were requested and diverted from the larger Reche Fire north of Moreno Valley that was slowing late Friday afternoon.

The flames were on the outer rim of the subdivision between Highland Springs to the west and Sunningdale Street to the east, and an evacuation order for those residences was issued shortly after 4 p.m. Friday, according to the fire department.

All evacuations had been lifted as of 9 p.m Friday, a department official said.

The cause of the blaze was not immediately known.

Click here for evacuation order updates.

An evacuation center was established at Nicolet Middle School, 101 East Nicolet Street, in Banning.

The blaze was one of three brush fires burning in the area. Read more:

The Rabbit Fire Burning Near Moreno Valley

The Reche Fire Burning Near The Riverside/San Bernardino County Line