Blaze in Badlands south of Calimesa burns 500 acres

CALIMESA, Calif. (KESQ) - A brush fire that erupted today in the Badlands southwest of Calimesa scorched 500 acres and forced a road closure as crews attempted to establish containment lines with the help of Cal Fire aircraft.

The non-injury blaze was reported at 3:23 p.m. Monday in a sparsely populated area near Lake Shore Drive and San Timoteo Canyon Road, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.

The agency said multiple engine and hand crews from the county, Hemet Fire Department, Palm Springs Fire Department and Cal Fire-San Bernardino County were sent to the location, which is on the north side of the rugged expanse between Interstate 10 to the north and the Moreno Valley (60) Freeway to the south.   

Flames were moving at a moderate to rapid rate northward amid gusty afternoon winds, which were expected to abate around nightfall, enabling crews to begin encircling the fire, according to reports from the scene.   

No homes or other structures were immediately threatened, but an evacuation warning was issued for scattered residential and commercial properties on the perimeter of the fire. A map identifying the zone was available at protect.genasys.com/zones/US-CA-XRI-RVC-0231-B.

An evacuation center was established for people and pets at Valley View High School in Moreno Valley. Large animal intakes were also available at the San Jacinto Valley Animal Campus in San Jacinto.

Two Cal Fire water-dropping helicopters and five air tankers had begun runs on the fire by 4:20 p.m. The agency's contract ``Very Large Air Tanker,'' or VLAT, usually a DC-10 or Boeing 767 capable of carrying over 8,000 gallons of water, was requested Monday afternoon.

The terrain is difficult to negotiate on foot.   

Sheriff's deputies shut down San Timoteo Canyon Road, between Redlands Boulevard and Lake Shore, for public safety.   

The cause of the fire wasn't immediately known.