SOUTHWEST RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA - The first day of summer arrived Wednesday, and the season kicked off with brush fires and smoke drifting over the region.
Here are the latest updates as of 4:30 p.m.:
A brush fire broke out Wednesday afternoon at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton inside the facility's Whiskey Impact Area in Range 211A (see map below).
"Smoke will be visible, but there is currently no threat to personnel or structures," according to base officials. Smoke was drifting over Southwest Riverside County due to afternoon winds.
A fire broke out Wednesday on the east end of San Jacinto, burning about two acres before firefighters stopped it.
The non-injury blaze was reported in the area of Idyllwild Drive and North State Street, according to Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department.
The agency said multiple engine crews from the county and Soboba Indian Reservation were sent to the location and encountered flames moving at a slow rate through open space near the reservation.
No homes or other structures were threatened.
The fire's forward rate of spread was stopped at 3:15 p.m. Full containment was expected by 4:30 p.m.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.
A brush fire broke out Wednesday in a canyon north of Moreno Valley, blackening roughly 15 acres but not threatening any homes.
The non-injury blaze was reported at about 10:20 a.m. in the 29900 block of San Timoteo Canyon Road, near Redlands Boulevard, about three miles north of the city limits, according to Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department.
The agency said multiple engine and hand crews were sent to the location and encountered flames moving at a moderate rate through dry brush.
A Cal Fire water-dropping helicopter was also called in to make runs on the brusher.
No homes or other structures were in the fire's path, and crews were making steady progress establishing tentative containment lines, according to reports from the scene.
There was no word on what might have triggered the blaze.
A vegetation fire was reported at 12:17 p.m. Wednesday in the 16000 block of Via Del Lago at the north entrance of Lake Perris. As of 4:30 p.m., the fire was mapped at 5.3 acres and was 40% contained. Fire resources continue to work in the area to fully contain the blaze; multiple air and ground resources were on scene, according to Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department.
Firefighters were also assisting State Parks crews with a prescribed burn near Lake Perris.
Wednesday's blazes follow two that broke out Tuesday, including one in an outbuilding behind a Winchester home that spread into surrounding vegetation and forced the partial closure of Highway 79 before it was contained.
The non-injury blaze was reported about 4:40 p.m. in the 33100 block of Ninth Street, just off Highway 79, according to Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department.
The agency said multiple engine crews from the county and Hemet Fire Department were sent to the location and encountered flames raging in the outbuilding, extending into an adjacent field abutting the highway.
Witnesses reported several explosions, which officials attributed to propane tanks burning on the property.
Sheriff's deputies and California Highway Patrol officers partially closed Highway 79 at the location for public safety and to give firefighters space to operate.
The blaze was fully contained by 5:30 p.m. The cause of the fire was under investigation.
A brush fire that scorched almost 50 acres Tuesday west of Interstate 215 in Menifee, prompting evacuations, was stopped before damaging any homes through a combination of ground and air resources.
The non-injury blaze was reported at 12:55 p.m. in the area of Garbani and Haun roads, according to Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department.
The agency said multiple engine and truck crews from the county and surrounding agencies were sent to the location and encountered flames burning toward properties in the 20700 block of Garbani.
Firefighters immediately established a defensive perimeter around the homes and requested two Cal Fire air tankers and a water-dropping helicopter to make runs on the brusher.
Evacuation orders were implemented as a precaution for residents within the area west of Haun, north of Wickerd Road, south of Craig Avenue and east of Murrieta Road, according to the fire department.
The Cal Fire air resources worked the blaze for more than an hour, aiding fire crews in establishing tentative containment lines on the brusher's flanks.
The fire's forward rate of spread was stopped shortly before 3 p.m. All aircraft had cleared the scene as of 3:15 p.m., and the fire was declared 5% contained.
The evacuation orders were expected to be downgraded to warnings or lifted altogether by 4:30 p.m.
The cause of the blaze was under investigation.
-City News Service and Patch Editor Toni McAllister contributed to this report.
The article Smelling Smoke In Southwest Riverside County? Fires Burn Locally appeared first on Temecula Patch.