Crime & Safety

SWR Fire: 90 Acres Burn

UPDATED: Fire officials battled the fire Monday afternoon into the evening hours.

The fire was first reported around 2:20 p.m. Monday.
The fire was first reported around 2:20 p.m. Monday. (Patch file photo by Renee Schiavone)

TUESDAY UPDATE: Fire officials say everyone who was evacuated was allowed to return home.

--

UPDATE 8:40 P.M: Fire officials say the blaze is now 90 acres and is 75 percent contained.

Find out what's happening in Murrietafor free with the latest updates from Patch.

UPDATE 6:15 P.M.: Fire officials say the blaze has burned 80 acres and is 50% contained, but the forward progress has been stopped.

What's more, officials say a firefighter was taken to the hospital with "a non life threatening illness."

Find out what's happening in Murrietafor free with the latest updates from Patch.

--

SOUTHWEST RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — More than 150 firefighters are at the scene Monday of a fire burning in the Lake Elsinore area, the Riverside County Fire Department reports. The fire was first reported around 2:20 p.m. in the 26200 block of El Toro Road, roughly two miles east of Interstate 15.

As of 3:30 p.m., an estimated 25 acres had burned and structures are threatened.

"Approximately three homes along El Toro Road have been evacuated," the fire department said. "There are confirmed power lines down in the area of the fire. Additional air and ground resources have been requested to the incident."

The fire department says that the first arriving crews found brush burning at a rapid rate. A battalion chief at the scene said the blaze could expand to 200 acres given the amount of overgrown vegetation.

Four air tankers and two water-dropping helicopters are among the many resources assigned to the incident.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.