A brush fire that erupted Friday just east of Moreno Valley scorched two acres and prompted authorities to divert traffic away from a road before crews got the blaze partially contained.
The non-injury brusher was reported about 10:25 a.m. along Gilman Springs Road, just south of the Moreno Valley (60) Freeway, in a sparsely populated area known as the Badlands, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.
The agency said that multiple engine crews were sent to the location and encountered flames in light vegetation, burning north toward the freeway.
A Cal Fire helicopter was summoned to make runs on the blaze, which disrupted traffic on Gilman Springs, as well as the eastbound 60, according to reports from the scene.
The California Highway Patrol closed the Gilman Springs exit ramp from the freeway and closed the slow lane on the freeway at the location for public safety.
No homes or other structures were threatened.
By 11 a.m., the fire’s forward rate of spread was stopped, and crews were making steady progress encircling the brusher, officials said.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.