A brush fire in the Badlands southwest of Calimesa that has burned more than 2,000 acres, prompting two evacuation orders and 11 evacuation warnings was 20% contained Tuesday.
The non-injury Shore Fire was reported at 3:23 p.m. Monday in a sparsely populated area near Lake Shore Drive and San Timoteo Canyon Road, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.
The agency said multiple engine and hand crews from the county, Hemet Fire Department, Palm Springs Fire Department and Cal Fire-San Bernardino County were sent to the location on the north side of the rugged expanse between Interstate 10 to the north and the Moreno Valley (60) Freeway to the south.
The fire had burned 120 acres of vegetation by approximately 5 p.m. and 450 acres as of 6 p.m. Monday, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.
An evacuation order was issued at 6 p.m. for the area with scattered residential and commercial properties on the perimeter of the fire bordered by San Timoteo Canyon Road and the Moreno Valley Freeway due to the immediate threat to life, the Riverside County Fire Department announced.
An evacuation order was issued at 7:12 p.m. for the adjacent area, also between San Timoteo Canyon Road and the Moreno Valley Freeway.
An evacuation center was established for people and pets at Valley View High School in Moreno Valley. Large animal intakes were also available at the San Jacinto Valley Animal Campus in San Jacinto.
The fire had expanded to 1,500 acres with zero containment by 8:15 p.m. It had grown to 2,053 acres by 12:04 a.m. Tuesday with 20% containment.
Two Cal Fire water-dropping helicopters and five air tankers had begun runs on the fire by 4:20 p.m. The agency’s contract “Very Large Air Tanker,” or VLAT, usually a DC-10 or Boeing 767 capable of carrying over 8,000 gallons of water, was requested Monday afternoon.
There were 41 engines, two water tenders, two helicopters, six dozers, six hand crews and 255 personnel assigned to the fire as of 12:04 a.m.
The terrain is difficult to negotiate on foot.
The cause of the fire wasn’t immediately known.