1,000 Firefighters Battle Blaze Raging Near Morongo Valley

A 10,500-acre wildfire raged in rugged, desert hills in Riverside County for a second day Saturday as firefighters held back its advance under a scorching sun.

The blaze, sparked by a man charging his tractor battery, was 30% contained as it burned near Morongo Valley, authorities said.

No homes were threatened although flames destroyed a barn and some ranch equipment, said Jeaneen Gardner, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry.

Some 1,000 firefighters were battling the blaze, aided by helicopters and air tankers dropping water and retardant, said CDF Battalion Chief Doug Lannon.

By early afternoon, the temperature reached 114 degrees in the area 20 miles northwest of Palm Springs.

Winds of up to 20 m.p.h. forced the flames back on charred areas, but a change in wind direction could fuel a fierce drive, Lannon said.

“It’s up-and-down, steep drainages, real rocky,” said Lannon. “It’s already up to the 5,000- and 6,000-foot elevation.

“There’s a lot of real angry geography, you might say.”

Firefighters were keeping a watch on homes in the Painted Hills and Morongo Valley, along California 62 and on wilderness areas burning in the nearby San Bernardino National Forest, Gardner said.

“Unfortunately, because it’s a wilderness area, we are not allowed to use mechanized equipment to fight the fire” so water drops were being used on those sections, Lannon said.