Palm Springs wildfire briefly flares up, torches 40 acres

Crews made quick work today of two spot fires that reignited in the vicinity of a brush fire that broke out Tuesday night and blackened about 40 acres near the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway.

Crews sent to the 2800 block of Girasol Avenue around 6:15 a.m. doused the flames, according to the Palm Springs Fire Department.

The larger fire erupted for unknown reasons about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday in a field just east of Racquet Club Drive and Tramview Road, prompting the brief evacuation of about 20 nearby homes, Palm Springs Fire Chief Kevin Nadler said.

ORIGINAL STORY: Wildfire burns 40 acres near Tramway Road

The fire caused a power outage that left about 700 Southern California Edison customers without power and left 27 people briefly stranded on the Tramway, according to the Desert Sun.

Police closed streets in the area north of Via Escuela and west of Palm Canyon Drive around 10 p.m., but all roads were reopened by 11:30 p.m.

There were no reports of injuries or homes damaged or destroyed as the result of the blaze.