A 564-acre brush fire in Mecca is only 70 percent contained as it continues into its third day.
Fire officials said a helicopter, along with 27 engine crews, four water tender crews and a bulldozer operator — numbering about 115 personnel — have battling the fire since it began on Friday just after 2 p.m. in the area of Avenue 68 and Lincoln Street.
Seven engines, three water tender crews and a bulldozer battled the blaze on Monday.
The fire’s size doubled from 285 to 564 acres between Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning as fire crews worked to strengthen containment lines.
The blaze was 68 percent contained on Sunday and progress was slow “due to depth of the mulch piles involved and heavy fuels,” Riverside County Fire Department spokeswoman Jody Hagemann said. The mulch piles were described as six-to-eight-feet deep.
Initially, some homes were evacuated temporarily with the assistance of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, officials tweeted, but the evacuation order was lifted Friday evening.
Two firefighters reportedly suffered minor injuries on Saturday.
There was no word on what sparked the fire.