A brush fire that broke out Wednesday alongside the Moreno Valley (60) Freeway just west of Beaumont scorched 35 acres and prompted the partial closure of the freeway.
The non-injury brusher was reported about 1:40 p.m. on the eastbound side of the 60, near Jack Rabbit Trail, in a sparsely populated area known as the Badlands, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Riverside County Fire Department crews arrived within minutes and encountered flames on both sides of the freeway. A fire department spokeswoman said two air tankers and a water-dropping helicopter were called in to make runs on the fire, which consumed 25 acres in less than an hour.
By 3 p.m., the brusher was 20 percent contained.
The CHP temporarily closed both sides of the 60, beginning at Gilman Springs Road in Moreno Valley to the west and Jack Rabbit Trail to the east. However, the agency opened the No. 1 lane on the westbound side of the freeway at 2:15 p.m., allowing traffic to crawl through.
The eastbound side was shut down at Gilman Springs, and all eastbound traffic was diverted onto that north-south corridor.
There was no word on what triggered the blaze or when it might be fully contained.