AGUANGA >> Firefighters reached 90% containment Sunday of a brush fire that burned 1,096 acres near Highway 371 in Aguanga.
“Crews today will be prepared for the weather to change back to normal conditions. They will hit any flare ups or new starts and continue working in heavy vegetation buildup areas of the fire line. They will be girding the interior of the fire’s perimeter for smoldering vegetation,” Cal Fire Riverside stated Sunday morning.
As of Sunday afternoon, the last evacuation order that remained was downgraded to an evacuation warning for the area north and south of Tribal Road, east of Cahuilla Road and west of Homestead Road.
An evacuation center at the Anza Community Center closed Sunday morning, and evacuees were instead being welcomed at the Veterans of Foreign Wars, 59011 Bailey Road, in Anza, but that evacuation center also closed as of 5 p.m. Sunday and was going to remain closed for the duration of the fire, Cal Fire announced.
The Riverside County Department of Animal Services was accepting evacuated pets at the agency’s San Jacinto Valley Animal Campus, 581 S. Grand Ave.
The non-injury blaze broke out at 12:35 p.m. Wednesday in the area of Riverdale Drive and the highway. It was one of two brush fires that started about the same time. The second erupted about three-quarters of a mile south at Bradford Road and Gelding Way.
The latter fire was contained within two hours after consuming a few acres. However, the main blaze burned at an accelerated rate to the northeast.
On Thursday afternoon, two lightning strike fires were ignited as cells swept through the foothills around Anza, roughly 10 miles east of the big blaze. Cal Fire air tankers and a water-dropping helicopter quickly stopped the forward rates on both brushers, enabling crews to dig containment lines before nightfall. The combined fires scorched just under four acres, officials said.
On Wednesday afternoon, seven Cal Fire air tankers and three water-dropping helicopters initiated runs on the wildfire as it progressed in the direction of Cahuilla Creek Motocross and the Cahuilla Casino Hotel, both south of the 371. They were briefly evacuated but not damaged.
The main fire destroyed at least one structure, according to Cal Fire. Some 545 personnel were devoted to the effort as of Sunday, including 39 engines, 15 water tenders and 10 dozers.
The source of the fire was under investigation. The area has been ground zero for a cluster of minor and major wildfires going back three years.
