Silver fire Only 10 Percent Contained; More Evacuations Ordered [Video]

Fire is raging in Riverside County, in the so called Silver fire. Firefighters have only achieved 10% containment as of Thursday morning, and officials have called for additional evacuations.

Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant winds were pushing the fire line east of Banning and toward Cabazon.

He said, two further firefighters suffered “minor to moderate” injuries bringing the total number of injured crew members to four

The Silver fire has so far consumed around 10,000 acres and damaged or destroyed at least 15 structures,.
The condition of a civilian who suffered serious burns as the fire spread on Wednesday could not be confirmed.

Jeff Larusso of the Riverside County Fire Department could not identify the victim or elaborate on the extent of injuries. The burn victim was airlifted to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton.

The Silver fire broke out around 2 p.m. Wednesday and soon exploded into an uncontrolled blaze that moved quickly around Banning. More than 1,500 residents in mandatory evacuation zones have fled.

Larusso said,”Basically, our priority today is keeping [the fire] off San Bernardino National Forest….as of right now, we’re not into the heavy dense fuels, we’re not seeing the type of timber fuels that burn hotter.”

Officials said they were focusing firefighting efforts on keeping the Silver fire line away from more dense forest areas.