Residents of 100 mobile homes in Thermal were evacuated Tuesday as a five-acre brush fire driven by high winds burned through nearby vegetation.
The blaze, initially reported as a mulch fire, broke out around 2:30 p.m. near Fillmore Street and Avenue 69, according to the Riverside County Fire Department said. Initially reported as a half-acre blaze, the flames had spread across five acres by late afternoon, pushed by 13 mph winds, with gusts reaching up to 30 mph.
Forty firefighters were dispatched to the scene, and no injuries were immediately reported.
Evacuations were ordered on the north side of the Oasis Mobile Home Park in the 88700 block of Avenue 70, officials said. An reception center for evacuees was established at the Desert Mirage High School, 86150 66th Ave.
Fillmore Street was closed due to the blaze between Avenue 68 and Avenue 70.
The fire was burning roughly 10 miles from an earlier 130-acre blaze that began burning Saturday but was declared fully contained Monday night. Desert winds kicked up hot spots within the containment lines of that fire Tuesday afternoon.
There was no word on the cause of either fire.