[symple_googlemap title=”Mecca vineyard blaze” location=”Avenue 64 and Dale Kiler Road, Mecca, CA” height=”300″ zoom=”16″]
A fire that broke out Thursday in an abandoned vineyard in Mecca blackened about 10 acres and caused electrical outage impacting more than 200 people.
The blaze did not injure anyone, firefighters said.
It was reported shortly before 6 a.m. near Avenue 64 and Dale Kiler Road, according to the Riverside County Fire Department. That is on the north side of Mecca, about 10 miles southeast of Indio.
Nine engine crews, staffed by about 30 firefighters, encountered three acres blackened, with flames spreading into heavy brush at the site of the old vineyard. By the time it was extinguished, it had spread to 10 acres.
Technicians from the Imperial Irrigation District shut down power feeding electrical lines in the immediate vicinity as a precaution, and 238 residents were temporarily left in the dark, according to the fire department.
The fire was encircled but not under control as of 11:30 a.m.
Officials said crews will likely remain at the location for the rest of the day, mopping up and knocking down flare-ups.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.
—City News Service