A brush fire that erupted Monday alongside Highway 74 just northeast of Lake Elsinore burned about a half-acre and damaged a truck before it was stopped.
The non-injury blaze was reported at 12:08 p.m. Monday on the westbound side of the highway, near Rosetta Canyon Drive, according to the California Highway Patrol and Riverside County Fire Department.
The latter agency said that multiple engine crews were sent to the location and encountered flames moving at a slow rate through medium vegetation in a riparian area, extending to a tractor-trailer parked nearby.
Firefighters quickly established hose lays and prevented the flames from causing significant damage to the truck. At 12:45 p.m., the fire’s forward rate of spread was stopped in the vegetation, according to reports from the scene.
The highway was not closed but traffic was slow through the area due to the firefighting activity, according to the CHP.
The cause of the blaze was under investigation.