Palm Tree Fire Extinguished On BLM Land; Early Warning Of Fire Season Dangers

RANCHO MIRAGE- It took firefighters 3 1/2 hours to extinguish 15 palm trees on fire in a remote area of Magnesia springs inside the Mountain Park in Rancho Mirage Monday afternoon. The fire started just after 2:30p.m southwest of Bob Hope Drive and Highway 111.

Firefighters had to hike several miles in from the trail headto battle the blaze.Firefighters also called in ahelicopter to drop water on the burning palm trees. No word on what started the fire but two people were seen running from the area just after the fire started. They were questioned by Riverside County Sheriff’s Deputies at the scene.

Captain Scott Visyak with Cal-Fire says, “I’m surprised it happened today with all the rain we got over the weekend. As you can see this area is still dry and as soon as we get the hotter temperatures, this will dry up and will cause us big problems.”

No homes were threatened and no one was hurt. Hikers were asked to not hike near the fire while crews worked to extinguish it.