Firefighters worked overnight to clear more vegetation around a brush fire in a canyon north of Moreno Valley that consumed 437 acres, increasing containment to 60%, officials said Sunday.
The fire was reported at about 1 p.m. Friday in the 9400 block of Reche Canyon Road, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.
Road closures and evacuation orders sent out Saturday for residents south of Reche Canyon Road, west of Locust/Truth, north of Alta Vista and east of Reche Vista Drive/Perris Boulevard have been lifted, the department said.
At the height of the blaze, at least six Cal Fire air tankers and six water-dropping helicopters made runs on the blaze, successfully slowing its advance, enabling crews to start tightening up gaps.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.
As a result of the Reche Fire and a few others burning in Riverside County, the South Coast Air Quality Management District issued a smoke advisory that was later extended through at least noon Monday.
AQMD officials urged people to limit exposure by remaining indoors with windows and doors closed, avoiding strenuous physical activity, using air conditions rather than swamp coolers or fans that bring in outside air, avoiding burning wood in fireplaces and fire pits, and wearing respirator masks while outdoors.