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Fire crews were reporting progress battling the blaze, named
the "Highway Fire," which had grown to about 1,020 acres and was
35 percent contained one day after it erupted, according to an
update posted on the Riverside County Fire Department website.
Smoke from the blaze was affecting a wide span of communities
about an hour's drive east of Los Angeles, from Anaheim in the
south to Chino Hills and parts of San Bernardino County, said
Captain Liz Brown of the California Department of Forestry and
Fire Prevention (CalFire).
More than 200 homes were evacuated on Saturday as the blaze
quickly expanded in size. By Sunday those residents were allowed
to return home, she said.
Fire department officials determined the blaze was the result of
an unattended outdoor cooking fire that spread rapidly in the
region's drought-stricken vegetation.
The fire-friendly conditions are typically seen later in the
summer and fall, Brown said.
"We’re seeing bigger fires early on," she said.
She compared conditions to heavy smog. Cooler temperatures
forecast could help efforts to contain the fire, which was first
reported in trees late on Saturday, she said.
No injuries have been reported. Nearly 700 firefighters and crew
were involved in battling the blaze, Brown said.
(Reporting by Victoria Cavaliere and Letitia Stein; Editing by
Jane Merriman, Frances Kerry, Eric Walsh and Simon
Cameron-Moore)
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