Containment of the Nixon Fire increased to 92% Monday with all evacuation warnings and orders lifted as of 3 p.m, Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department announced.
The slow-moving 5,222-acre brush fire burning in a federal preserve on the southern tip of Riverside County, along the boundary with San Diego County, had been 82% contained as of Sunday night. Full containment was expected by Wednesday.
“Firefighters continued to work hard to ensure strong control lines around the fire’s perimeter,” a statement from the departments issued Monday night. “Crews will remain in the area over the next several days, continuing mop up and gain complete containment of the fire. Residents and visitors are reminded to use caution when driving near the fire area.”
Officials previously confirmed the fire was triggered by a faulty electrical panel on private property.
“Cal Fire peace officers, after an origin and cause investigation, determined the cause of the Nixon Fire was electrical, caused by a privately owned electrical panel,” according to an agency statement released Friday.
The fire has damaged three structures and threatened 129 more, prompting an evacuation order for the scattered homes south of Highway 371, north of the county line, west of Terwilliger Road and east of Foolish Pleasure Road.
No injuries were reported.
At its peak, an estimated 1,783 structures were threatened. As of late Friday, the fire was no longer threatening any homes or other structures situated within the Beauty Mountain Wilderness, which is maintained by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
The blaze erupted about 12:30 p.m. Monday in the area of Richard Nixon Boulevard and Tule Peak Road, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.
There were 990 people battling the blaze as of Saturday night, including county fire crews, Cal Fire-San Diego County crews and Bureau of Land Management firefighters.