A brush fire that broke out Monday on a hillside along the Moreno Valley (60) Freeway in an area known as the Badlands scorched roughly three acres before it was stopped.
The non-injury blaze was reported just after 3 p.m. near Jack Rabbit Trail, on the eastbound side of the 60, between Moreno Valley and Beaumont, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.
The agency said multiple engine crews were sent to the location, which is lightly populated and marked by rugged terrain, and encountered flames moving at a moderate rate through light vegetation.
California Highway Patrol officers shut down the slow lane on the eastbound 60 for public safety.
Firefighters stopped the brusher’s forward rate of spread within a half-hour, according to reports from the scene.
Full containment of the fire was expected by nightfall.
The cause of the blaze was under investigation.