A car blaze triggered a roughly 100-acre brush fire that forced the near-complete shutdown of the Moreno Valley (60) Freeway between Beaumont and Moreno Valley before it was partially contained.
The fire was reported about 12:50 p.m. on the shoulder of the eastbound 60, near Jack Rabbit Trail, in a barren hill-studded area known as the Badlands, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.
Several dozen engine crews and three hand crews — numbering about 130 personnel — from the county and surrounding jurisdictions were sent to the brusher, which spread to the south at a brisk pace until Cal Fire air tankers and a water-dropping helicopter made a series of runs that choked of
Shortly after 3 p.m., the fire’s forward rate of spread was stopped, and crews had achieved 20% containment, officials said.
No structures were damaged and no injuries were reported.
The California Highway Patrol shut down all eastbound lanes on the 60, as well as one of two westbound lanes, between Jack Rabbit and the city limits of Moreno Valley while fire suppression efforts were active near the corridor. However, by 3:30 p.m., all closures were lifted.
The vehicle fire may have started because of an overheated engine, according to reports from the scene. The motorist was not injured, but the entire vehicle was consumed as flames extended into nearby vegetation.