Firefighters begin to get control of blaze near San Jacinto

A fire in the Juniper Flats area between Perris and San Jacinto that has charred at least 490 acres of brush was 30% contained, authorities said Monday.

Two hundred residents from 60 homes in the community of Mayberry in San Jacinto who had been under evacuation orders from the Riverside County Fire Department since Saturday evening were allowed to return home Sunday but advised to yield to fire equipment and personnel still in the area working on the blaze, officials said.

There have been no reports of structure damage. The blaze was reported at 5:52 p.m. Saturday near the 21000 block of Horseshoe Trail, Riverside County Fire Department spokesman Rob Roseen said.

First reported at 10 acres, the so-called “Horseshoe Fire” jumped to 75 acres by 6:40 p.m. Saturday, Roseen said. It then jumped to 100 acres by 8:40 p.m. but doubled in size overnight. “The first arriving engine reported the fire burning in heavy fuels with a moderate rate of spread,” Roseen said.

More than 200 firefighters were assigned to battle the blaze, along with two air tankers and one helicopter, he said.

No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire was under investigation. A smoke advisory triggered by the blaze was issued by the South Coast Air Quality Management District through this morning, with air quality potentially becoming unhealthy for sensitive groups in the San Jacinto Valley-Hemet area, Perris Valley, San Gorgonio Pass, Beaumont, Calimesa, Banning and Cabazon.

KESQ