A brush fire that erupted Monday in the San Bernardino National Forest between Anza and Pinyon Pines charred close to 1,500 acres, prompting closure of Highway 74 and mandatory evacuations.
The non-injury blaze was reported at 12:25 p.m. Monday on the north side of the highway at Santa Rosa Truck Trail, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.
The agency said multiple engine and hand crews from the county, U.S. Forest Service, Palm Springs Fire Department and other agencies, numbering around 300 personnel, were sent to the location and encountered flames moving at a moderate rate to the north through heavy vegetation.
Six Cal Fire air tankers and three water-dropping helicopters made a series of runs on the fire that initially slowed its progress early Monday afternoon. However, as winds increased through the mountains, the brusher accelerated, according to reports from the scene.
California Highway Patrol officers shut down both sides of Highway 74 between the junction at Highway 371 in Anza to the west and the area around the Big Horn Golf Club, just south of Palm Desert, spanning almost 25 miles.
Evacuation orders were issued for the area south of Alpine Village, while warnings were announced for neighboring communities bordering Pinyon Pines, on either side of the highway.
A care and reception center was set up at the Anza Community Center, 56630 Highway 371. Evacuees were invited to drop their pets at either the Coachella Valley Animal Campus at 72-050 Pet Land Place in Thousand Palms, or the San Jacinto Valley Animal Campus, 581 S. Grand Ave.
Firefighters established tentative containment lines on the back side, or “heel,” of the fire, as well as the western segment, but as winds increased to 15 to 20 mph in the mid-afternoon, they were unable to reach the head of the fire, which was burning in thick overgrowth. Only the aircraft were in front of the flames.
Winds were expected to die down after nightfall. Night-capable Cal Fire choppers were set to work the fire lines into Tuesday morning.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.