A brush fire erupted Wednesday at the end of a dirt road in the unincorporated community of De Luz, scorching about an acre before Cal Fire aircraft boxed it in during a series of drops.
The non-injury blaze was reported at 4:55 p.m. in the area of Patton and Gavilan Mountain roads, just west of Temecula, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.
Multiple engine crews were sent to the location and encountered flames moving slowly through heavy vegetation, well clear of homes in the sparsely populated area, the department reported.
Three Cal Fire air tankers and two water-dropping helicopters were called in to make runs on the fire, slowing its advance, enabling crews to begin establishing containment lines, according to officials at the scene.
As of 5:30 p.m., crews were making steady progress typing up gaps and closing off the fire’s flanks.
There was no immediate word on what might have triggered the blaze.