Lake Elsinore Fire Not Yet Contained: 50 Homes Evacuated [Update]


Update Tuesday: The fire has now consumed 1,416 acres, and is only 20 percent contained, according to Cal Fire and Riverside Fire Department officials. This is according to a report in the Los Angeles Times

A Brush fire broke out today at around 10 a.m. five miles west of Lake Elsinore in the Cleveland National Forest.

The fire spread quickly and has already consumed 175 acres of brush. A campground and a residential development have already been evacuated; the fire is currently just south of the Ortega Highway (route 74).

Jake Rodriguez, spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service told City News Service that the Decker Canyon area was under a mandatory evacuation order.

Public safety officials also closed off the nearby El Cariso Campground, the Wildomar Off-Highway Vehicle Area and the California Wildland Firefighter Memorial.

Rodriguez said 20 engine crews, six inmate hand crews, six air tankers, and three water-dropping helicopters, were working to contain the wildfire. “We have pretty decent access right now,” he said. “The winds are picking up a little bit, so we have to watch that.”

He added that it was too early to make any estimation as to the time needed to contain this Lake Elsinore fire; the cause of the fire was under investigation.

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