Silver fire: Homes destroyed, 5,000 acres burned, firefighter hurt
A fast-moving brush fire in Riverside County burned through at least 5,000 acres in less than four hours Wednesday, and destroyed an undetermined number of buildings and homes.
The Silver fire began shortly after 2 p.m. around Poppet Flats Road near Highway 243, south of Banning.
CalFire reported “multiple structures involved” in Twin Pines, and television footage showed other homes and buildings on fire in nearby Poppet Flats.
Mandatory evacuations were in place for the communities of Poppet Flats, Twin Pines and Silent Valley. Highway 243 was closed and evacuation centers set up at Hemet High School and Beaumont High School.
CalFire spokesman Daniel Berlant said incident commanders had a “significant number of fire engines that are assigned to structure defense,” but it was unclear how successful those defensive maneuvers have been.
Early Wednesday evening, the fire remained 0% contained as more than 450 people were on scene to fight the blaze.
At least one firefighter has been injured. Officials did not disclose the injuries the firefighter suffered but KTLA-TV Channel 5 said he suffered burns and was airlifted to a hospital.
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