Firefighters were continued efforts Friday to contain a raging brush fire that erupted on a hillside just west of Lake Elsinore and scorched 145 acres, destroying one structure and threatening homes abutting the Cleveland National Forest, prompting mandatory evacuation orders.
The non-injury Macy Fire was reported at 5:42 p.m. Thursday in the vicinity of the El Cariso Campground, north of the Ortega (74) Highway, just west of Macy Street, in an unincorporated area, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.
As of Friday morning, the fire was 145 acres with 15% containment. Roughly 150 firefighters were assigned to the blaze. There were no reports of any injuries.
Multiple engine and hand crews from the county, U.S. Forest Service, Orange County Fire Authority and other agencies were sent to the location and encountered flames running downhill at a “dangerous rate of spread,” heading directly toward residences alongside the federal preserve, according to the department.
Five Cal Fire air tankers and three water-dropping helicopters immediately began runs on the blaze, making drops for the protection of homes in the fire’s path.
The flames jumped the Ortega Highway at 6:50 p.m. Thursday, burning along both sides near a turnout known as the Candy Store, according to officials.
An evacuation order was issued for all properties south of Grand Avenue, east of Fairview Street and west of Ortega Highway. A temporary evacuation center was initially established at Lakeside High School.
Elsinore High School at 21800 Canyon Drive in Wildomar was designated as an evacuation center.
California Highway Patrol officers and county sheriff’s deputies fully shut down Ortega Highway in both directions from Grand Avenue to the Orange County line.
Grand Avenue in Lake Elsinore was also closed from Machdo to Maiden Lane.
There was no immediate word regarding how the blaze might have started.