Lake Elsinore Fire Burns Church Site, 850 Acres

A fire that started at a church construction site in Lake Elsinore burned 850 acres of dry, brush-covered hills Thursday and prompted a voluntary evacuation of hundreds of homes in a nearby planned community, fire officials said.

Aside from the half-completed church, no structures were damaged.

Two inmate fire crew members were slightly injured, said Riverside County Fire Capt. Rick Vogt.

Thursday evening, firefighters had not determined the cause of the fire, which started shortly after noon at the construction site of the Lamb’s Fellowship Church on Railroad Canyon Road, he said.

“We have the rolling hills, the winds and the flashy scrub,” Vogt said. “It’s just very difficult every time you have these conditions with homes right up next to the hills.”

Gary Enniss, pastor of the church, and several congregation members arrived to inspect the charred ruins shortly after the fire destroyed what was to be their new church.

He said his congregation of about 300 was planning to move in around Thanksgiving. Construction had been underway for more than a year, but only a foundation and frame had been completed when the fire struck.

“I’m a man of faith,” Enniss said. “I thank God no one was hurt. You can always rebuild buildings.”

By Thursday evening the blaze had been contained and was expected to be extinguished by this evening, fire officials said.

Fire officials called for a voluntary evacuation of most of the Canyon Hills community of more than 1,500 homes, but only a few residents showed up at a makeshift center at the nearby Canyon Hills Middle School.

Many homeowners in the neighborhood disregarded warnings to evacuate. Some tried to battle the flames with garden hoses.

Jennifer Kamine, a Canyon Hills homeowner, was shopping when family members called to tell her that the blaze was approaching her four-bedroom home on Birchwood Drive. With the fire closing within 10 yards of her home, she said she packed some wedding photos and other valuables. But ultimately, Kamine said she decided to stay and take her chances.

“I love this house,” she said. “I love being nestled in the hills, but a fire is always in the back of your mind.”

Gary Davis, whose home abuts a shrub-covered hill on Sugarbush Lane, stayed behind while his wife and three children fled for safety. Davis and several neighbors moved his car, motorcycles and three dogs away from the home before the fire on the hill was doused.

“I was pretty anxious because I didn’t know if the fire would stop,” he said.

But firefighters warn residents not to defy an evacuation order and not to try to fight a major blaze with a garden hose.

San Diego County Fire Department Capt. Gary Correiar said that if too many residents try to use their garden hoses, it could sap the water supplies needed for firefighters.

“You never know when a voluntary evacuation can turn into a firestorm in minutes and consume you,” he said.

Vogt said high temperatures and dry, shrub-covered canyons can set the stage for the start of a dangerous fire season.

“This is the beginning of a very long, very high-risk fire season for us,” he said.

“It will be very challenging.”

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Times staff writer Hugo Martin contributed to this report.