Firefighters Saturday were getting the upper hand on a brush fire that’s burned 4,176 acres in Moreno Valley, with containment up to 75%.
The Springs Fire was reported at about 11 a.m. Friday in the 15900 block of Gilman Springs Road, according to the Riverside County Fire Department. The blaze was initially estimated at roughly 5 acres but quickly spread, growing to 4,176 acres by 10 p.m. Friday, officials said.
Evacuation orders in the area north of Ramona Expressway, south of the Moreno Valley (60) Freeway, east of Moreno Beach Drive and west of Eden Hot Springs Road remained effective as of midday Saturday.
Evacuation warnings in the area east of Championship Drive and Riva Ridge Drive, south of the 60 Freeway, Alessandro Boulevard and Aliconte Avenue, west of Gilman Springs Road and northwest of Contour Road and Upper Shore Drive also remained effective Saturday.
The Lake Perris State Recreation Area also remained under an evacuation warning.
Areas north of Iris Avenue, west of Moreno Beach Drive, Lasselle Street and Evans Road were back to normal status. The area of Mystic Lake was also back to normal status as of early Saturday afternoon.
Additional evacuation zone information is available at protect.genasys.com/fullscreenMap?z=11.408434606993993&latlon=33.879894 41064421%2C-117.11772989696317.
An evacuation shelter was opened at Valley View High School in Moreno Valley. Animals were being received at the San Jacinto Animal Shelter.
“The winds sting down last night really helped our firefighters make good progress on the fire, which is why we’re now at 45% containment,” Cal Fire spokeswoman Terra Fernandez told KTLA5 on Saturday morning. “We’re still at 4,176 acres, so we haven’t grown at all, so that’s great. The humidity increasing last night really helped. We are expected to have strong gusts of wind today, but hopefully we can still mitigate that threat and contain the fire.”
Fernandez said Saturday’s plan of attack included early air drops and hand crews working to strengthen containment lines.
As of 4 p.m. Friday, crews were reporting the fire was only a couple hundred yards from structures in the Championship Drive area, but officials said Saturday morning that no structures had been damaged or destroyed.
The cause of the fire was under investigation, and no injuries were reported.