A brush fire that erupted in Sage scorched 55 acres at the edge of the San Bernardino National Forest, and remained 50% contained Saturday.
The blaze was reported at 12:40 p.m. Friday in the area of Taffle Ranch and Red Mountain roads, about six miles southeast of Hemet, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.
The agency said multiple engine and hand crews were sent to the location and encountered flames moving at a moderate rate through medium vegetation in the lightly populated area.
Five Cal Fire air tankers and two water-dropping helicopters arrived between 1 and 1:30 p.m., initiating runs on the brusher that significantly slowed its spread to the northwest. Firefighters succeeded in keeping the flames south of Red Mountain and east of Oak Drive, where only a few scattered residential properties were in its path.
As of 2:30 p.m. Friday, the fire’s burn area had been closed off to the west and south, though the head of the blaze was still burning slowly across open space.
As of Saturday morning, evacuation warnings for the areas directly near the fire remained effective.
Several air tankers were released back to Hemet-Ryan Airport as the level of active fire diminished.
The cause of the fire wasn’t clear, and no injuries were immediately reported.