A wildfire that erupted Friday between Moreno Valley and Beaumont blackened 90 acres and threatened traffic along the Moreno Valley (60) Freeway before being partially contained.
The non-injury blaze was reported about 4 p.m. alongside the eastbound Moreno Valley Freeway, near Jack Rabbit Trail, in a sparsely populated area known as the Badlands, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.
The agency said 21 engine crews and five inmate hand crews, numbering roughly 160 personnel, were sent to the location and encountered flames moving at a rapid pace into vegetation south of the freeway.
No homes or other structures were immediately threatened.
With the help of four Cal Fire air tankers and two water-dropping helicopters, the fire’s rate of spread was stopped at 5:40 p.m., and the fire was 10% contained.
California Highway Patrol officers partially closed the Moreno Valley Freeway between Jack Rabbit Trail and Gilman Springs Road for public safety.
The fire was expected to be completely encircled overnight.
There was no immediate word on how it might have started.