Two Brush Fires Burn 900 Acres in Riverside County
Two brush fires were controlled near the Riverside County community of Hemet on Saturday after scorching more than 900 acres, destroying a motor home, a barn and two outbuildings and causing minor injuries to three firefighters, authorities said.
The larger of the two fires erupted early Friday afternoon when a vehicle parked on a county road about 20 miles southeast of Hemet somehow caught fire and ignited nearby brush, fire officials reported. The fire then burned across Reed and Wilson valleys.
285 Firefighters
A California Division of Forestry spokesman said 285 firefighters, manning 35 engines and two bulldozers, controlled the fire in less than 12 hours with the assistance of water drops from two helicopters and two aerial tankers.
The other fire, in Bautista Canyon about 10 miles southeast of Hemet, was set by the U.S. Forest Service to clear brush in a controlled burn. It jumped fire lines Thursday and blackened a total of 400 acres, injuring three firefighters, CDF spokesman Robert McDonald said.
“This happens very rarely,” said another spokesperson, Lindsay Maierhofer. “I’m sure they’re very unhappy about it.”
No structures were burned in the Bautista Canyon fire.
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