California residents were issued evacuation warnings after a fire that began on Thanksgiving Day engulfed hundreds of acres.
The Canyon Crest Fire, located south of Hwy 60, near Canyon Crest Drive in Riverside County, ignited at 8 p.m. on November 28. By Friday, it had scorched 254 acres.
“A large augmentation of fire engines, crews, bulldozers and night flying-water dropping helicopters assisted in the suppression of the fire yesterday,” a news release from Cal Fire stated. “Resources worked on containment throughout the night in challenging terrain with light flashy fuels and east blowing winds.”
Officials issued evacuation warnings for parts of Riverside County, including North of 60 Fwy, East of County Village Road and south of Riverside/San Bernardino County Line and West of Sierra Ave. On Friday afternoon, Cal Fire announced the warnings had been lifted for Jurupa Valley.
The fire is 15 percent contained. Firefighters will remain on-scene throughout the night to continue to strengthen containment lines, the agency announced.
Riverside County Fire is investigating the incident.
It’s not clear what caused the blaze but fire officials wrote on Thursday that they were responding to a “vegetation” fire.
The flames interrupted Thanksgiving meals. Cindy Gonzalez told Fox 11: “It’s really frightening that in a second everything could be gone.” She and her family were about to sit down to Thanksgiving dinner when they received the evacuation notice.
“We had already set the timer for dinner and [then] we didn’t even have an appetite,” Gonzalez told the outlet. “We were loading the car, getting our papers ready. It was really scary.”
She continued: “On a day everyone was with their family, we’re really appreciative of the firefighters,” said Gonzalez.
Residents were encouraged to pack up their belongings in case the fire reached their homes.
“We got home and got our pets, because they were alone,” Alyssa Delarosa said. “We already had our meal and everything, but it kind of ruined the mood.”
Approximately 213 firefighters and 37 fire engines are battling the fire.
