A brush fire that erupted Monday along state Route 79 south of Beaumont charred 1,200 acres within a few hours and prompted the closure of a highway, as well as evacuation warnings to rural communities in the path of the brusher.
The blaze — dubbed the Manzanita Fire — was reported shortly after 3 p.m. in the area of Route 79 and Dump Road, near the Lamb Canyon landfill, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.
An agency spokeswoman said a two-car wreck with a post-crash eruption triggered the wildfire, which was closing in on the communities of Poppet Flats and Silent Valley, as well as other lightly populated areas between Highland Home Road and state Route 243 in the Banning Pass.
The collision victims were transported to a hospital with unspecified injuries.
According to Cal Fire, 28 engine crews and 15 hand crews, numbering about 350 personnel, were deployed on the fire lines, aided until sundown by eight air tankers and three-water dropping helicopters.
In the second hour of the blaze, voluntary evacuations were announced on Death Valley Road, Highland Home Road, Longhorn Road and Shirleon Drive, all of which are situated southeast of Beaumont. No evacuation center was listed.
The fire was rolling east without any containment as of 7 p.m.
The CHP completely shut down Route 79 between Gilman Springs Road to the south, near San Jacinto, and Interstate 10 to the north, causing a major traffic jam in both directions. The hard closure was expected to remain in effect until after midnight.
Flames were burning up hillsides on both sides of the four-lane highway, according to reports from the scene.
Fire crews from Corona, Hemet, the Idyllwild Fire Protection District, March Air Reserve Base, Murrieta, Riverside and San Bernardino County were working to encircle the brusher, according to Riverside County fire officials.
–City News Service