A rapidly moving brush fire burning just east of Hemet, California, has spread to 500 acres Monday afternoon, prompting evacuations, the Riverside County Fire Department said.
Evacuations were ordered south of Thornton Avenue, north of Polly Butte Road, west of Fairview Avenue and east of State Street. Video broadcast by ABC7 showed several structures burning.
The blaze was first reported at 3:37 p.m. when about 20 acres were burning in light to medium vegetation around Fairview Avenue and Bautista Road, the Fire Department said in a tweet.
By 4:50 p.m., the fire had grown to 500 acres and was still “burning at a rapid rate,” the Fire Department tweeted.
Another fire erupted just west of Sugarloaf near Big Bear Lake and was reported to have covered about 50 acres Monday afternoon, said San Bernardino National Forest Service spokesperson Rebecca Miller.
The blaze, named the Radford fire, began at 1:30 p.m. and is 0% containment, Miller said. About 140 firefighters are at the scene, with more on the way. So far, the fire is not threatening structures, Miller said. The cause is still under investigation.
The fire danger level for Big Bear Valley is currently “very high.”
