Highway 74 stretch reopens as progress made on Fairview fire
A stretch of Highway 74 between Hemet and Mountain Center, which had been closed by the Fairview fire near Hemet, reopened Sunday as crews made more progress against the fire, Caltrans said. Also Sunday, more evacuation orders were canceled.
Evacuation orders were reduced to warning status west of Wilson Way, south of Highway 74, east of Fairview Avenue and north of the fire perimeter, fire agencies said.
Evacuation warnings were lifted for areas east of Fairview Avenue, north of Highway 74, south of the San Jacinto Riverbed, west of Wilson Way and for areas west of
Fairview, south of Highway 74, north of Stetson Avenue and east of Soboba Street.
Updated evacuation and warning information can be found at https://linktr .ee/IMT6
And the Hemet Unified School District, which closed schools Tuesday-Friday because of the fire, said schools would reopen today.
Firefighters continued Sunday to surround more of the massive blaze with a minor assist from the recent wet weather, with the Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department saying full containment was possible by Saturday.
The fire stood at 28,307 acres burned. Containment of the fire was reported at 45% Sunday morning, up from 43% the night before, according to Cal Fire/Riverside. By Sunday evening, containment had grown to 49%.
Moisture in the air helped slow the fire, officials said.
“Lingering tropical moisture brought cloudy, cooler, and moist conditions to the fire on Saturday … a few showers were also reported,” they said in a statement. But, they added, “Smoldering and creeping (of the fire) will continue to increase.”
The fire has now been burning for a week after starting on Sept. 5 in the afternoon, spreading from the Santa Rosa Hills just southeast of Hemet and making its way into mountainous areas south of Highway 74.
Three people were arrested over the weekend after they attempted to burglarize a home inside the Fairview fire evacuation zone, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said Sunday.
A caller reported on Saturday afternoon that three people in a white Chevrolet Blazer were casing a home on Cora Lee Lane, a street that is adjacent to State Street and Palm Avenue south of Hemet.
Deputies who were assigned to protect homes and businesses in the fire area found the Blazer with one person in it, the Sheriff’s Department said. Then they found a home in the 331400 block of Cora Lee with a broken window. Inside, a news release said, deputies found two burglars in possession of stolen property.
Stephen Volmer, Cal Fire’s fire behavior analyst on the Fairview fire, said in a video briefing Sunday that because the brush in the area has not burned since 1928, it is thick and still highly flammable. He asked evacuated residents to remain patient as crews put out the fire.
When firefighters first started their response, they faced hot conditions in one of California’s worst heat waves. But rainy weather brought relief over the past few days.
The fire killed a father and daughter and injured a mother who were trying to escape from their Hemet home the day the fire started. Another three people were injured when a helicopter crashed near the burn area on Saturday.
FEB. 26, 1932-SEPT. 12, 2003