Firefighter Injured As House Fires Burn East Of Lake Elsinore

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Two structure fires broke out Monday afternoon east of Lake Elsinore, and the cause of both blazes remains under investigation.

The fire nearest to Lake Elsinore city limits was in the 26700 block of El Toro Road. The non-injury blaze was reported at 2:32 p.m. When firefighters arrived at the scene, they found a single-story dwelling fully involved in flames, according to Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department.

It took just over 30 minutes to contain the blaze, though firefighters were expected to remain at the incident until about 5 p.m. for cleanup work.

Shortly after the El Toro Road fire broke out, another blaze was reported at 2:51 p.m. in the 22700 block of Cajalco Road in Mead Valley.

According to Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department, when crews got to the scene they found a single-family dwelling fully engulfed in flames. Power lines were also down.

Firefighters contained the blaze at approximately 3:45 p.m., though crews were expected to remain at the incident until about 6 p.m. for mop-up.

The fire department reported that one firefighter suffered minor injuries in the Cajalco fire and was being evaluated. There were no reports of other injuries.

Southern California Edison was summoned to address the downed power lines.

There was no indication that the blazes were connected.