Riverside County fire breaks containment, surging past 870 acres near evacuated homes

“We’re expecting another day of active fire. They will be faring with extreme heat today and trying to get as much containment built (as possible) before winds kick up in the afternoon.”

After nearly doubling in size overnight, a brush fire that broke out in Riverside County, California, on Thursday afternoon burned through hundreds more acres Friday while parts of a nearby community remain under evacuation orders.

The Bonny Fire, which ignited near Aguanga, southeast of Temecula, was 10% contained early Friday but dropped to 5% by 11:20 a.m., according to the Riverside County Fire Department. It was mapped at 877 acres. Although the fire is dangerously close to the community, no structures have been damaged by the fire and no injuries have been reported.

“This is a larger fire and it is burning very aggressively,” a spokesperson for the Riverside County Fire Department said.

Nearly 200 firefighters continued to battle the fire under a heat advisory, as it burned toward the southeast, blazing over dense vegetation and steep slopes. As temperatures creep up into the triple digits with low humidity Friday afternoon, “it will be another busy day,” said Rob Rofeen, a public information officer for the Fire Department.

“We’re expecting another day of active fire. They will be faring with extreme heat today and trying to get as much containment built (as possible) before winds kick up in the afternoon,” Rofeen said.

Evacuation orders expanded Friday afternoon, more than tripling the number of homes threatened by the fire.

At 12:30 p.m., all residents of the Terwilliger Valley community were ordered to evacuate, affecting more than 700 homes. The expanded evacuation included residents north of the San Diego County border, west of Anza Borrego State Park, south of Bowers, Bailey and Ramsey roads and east of Bonny Lane.

Hamilton High School in Anza, at 57430 Mitchell Road, is serving as an evacuation center. A stretch of Mitchell Camp Road, between Chihuahua Valley Road and Cooper Cienega Truck Trail, was closed, as was Chihuahua Valley Road between Old Mitchell Camp Road and Highway 79.

Capt. Robert Foxworthy, a spokesperson for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said the historic rainfall and snowpack this winter delayed the fire season. But in the coming weeks, he is expecting larger fires to ignite from recently dried fuels — anything that burns, from grass to towering trees.

“As we continue in the summer, especially with 100-plus temperatures, we will continue to have fuels dying out and drying out and being more receptive to burn,” he said. “The chances for those bigger fires will only increase.”

Another Riverside County fire that broke out Thursday evening, near Banning, was mostly contained Friday afternoon; an evacuation order was scaled back to a warning in the morning.

The Sunset fire, which ignited near Mesa and Gilman streets, remained at 103 acres and was

90% contained Friday afternoon.

All evacuation warnings and road closures related to that fire were lifted by Friday afternoon.

No injuries or structural damage have been reported, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.