Firefighters Thursday were closing in on full containment of a brush fire in the hills west of Murrieta, which was stalled at roughly 144 acres.
The blaze was reported at 2:50 p.m. Tuesday in the area of Via Volcano and Tenaja roads, in the unincorporated community of La Cresta, along the boundary of the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Preserve, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.
As of Thursday morning, the agency said the brusher remained 60% contained, with mostly sporadic hot spots within the burn area keeping crews busy.
“They will continue to extend the lines and mop up heavy deposit areas in steep terrain,” the fire department stated.
The agency stated that multiple engine and hand crews from the county, Murrieta Fire & Rescue, Riverside Fire Department, Corona Fire Department, Cal Fire-San Diego County and other agencies were sent to the location Tuesday, encountering flames moving at a moderate rate through medium to heavy brush.
At the height of the brusher, four Cal Fire air tankers and two water-dropping helicopters were making runs on it. However, all fixed-wing aircraft cleared the location Tuesday night. A helicopter made targeted drops on Wednesday and remained on alert status Thursday, but wasn’t flying as of 11 a.m.
One evacuation order and one warning remained in place, covering a few scattered properties along Tenaja between Avenida Caleta to the west and Clinton Keith Road to the east.
No residential properties were damaged.
Two firefighters fell ill from heat exhaustion and dehydration Wednesday morning. They were taken to Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar in stable condition.
An evacuation and reception center was established at Chaparral High School, 27215 Nicolas Road, in Temecula. Large animal intakes were accepted by county personnel at the Murrieta Equestrian Center, 42646 Juniper St.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.