A wildfire near Hemet on Monday claimed the lives of two people, injured another, and destroyed numerous structures. As of Tuesday morning, the Fairview Fire, which had a total size of 2,400 acres, was 5% contained.
In a regulatory document submitted on Monday, Southern California Edison indicated that equipment may have contributed to the fire’s ignition.
Seven buildings were demolished, and numerous others were damaged. Orders to evacuate remained in effect on Tuesday. The Hemet Independent Unified School District on Tuesday canceled all classes. According to a statement from FEMA, the fire put nearly 8,000 homes in and around Hemet and the nearby Diamond Lake in danger.
Around 4 p.m. on Monday, Cal Fire reported the Fairview Fire in an unincorporated area close to Hemet, close to the intersection of Fairview Avenue and Bautista Road.
According to a representative of the Riverside County Fire Department, it appeared that the two fatalities were making an attempt to escape the fire when they were engulfed in flames. He claimed that although they had been discovered in the same location, it was unknown whether they belonged to the same family. He claimed that they have not been named.
Just after 5 o’clock on Monday, footage from a KABC-Los Angeles helicopter appeared to show a number of residential buildings on fire.
Initially, 1,584 residences in the region, which was roughly bounded by State Street to the west, Thornton Avenue to the north, Fairview Avenue to the east, and Polly Butte Road to the south, were subject to an evacuation order. Later on Monday night, the order was extended to include the areas to the south of Stetson Avenue, the north of Cactus Valley Road, the west of Fairview Avenue, and the east of State Street. It was still in force on Tuesday.
There was a warning to evacuate another area in the easterly mountains.
Swan stated on Tuesday that the sheriff’s office was adding personnel to patrol the evacuated areas. She claimed that many residents had to leave their homes suddenly and were unable to secure them before doing so, so the patrols were necessary.
According to a spokesperson, the fire department was prepared to start attacking the fire from the air on Tuesday morning.
Tahquitz High School, located at 4425 Titan Trail in Hemet, offered a care and reception area.
After a windy Monday, the National Weather Service predicted that winds in the area would weaken Tuesday. However, Tuesday was forecast to have a high of 107 and continue to be warm and dry.
FEMA announced on Tuesday that it would give the state a grant to pay up to 75% of the many expenses related to putting out the fire. Field camps, equipment use, materials, supplies, mobilization, and demobilization costs associated with fighting the fire are all eligible costs covered by the grant.
Near Big Bear, a 450-acre fire
On Monday afternoon, another fire started in the San Bernardino National Forest close to Big Bear.
According to San Bernardino National Forest, the Radford Fire was consuming 50 acres and had 0% containment as of Monday around 5:15 p.m. There were 140 firefighters assigned to the fire.
That fire had 450 acres as of Tuesday morning and had no containment. The San Bernardino County Fire Department tweeted that it was “burning in heavy timber north of Highway 38 and south of Big Bear.”
The Glass Road to South Fork River Road evacuation order has been issued, according to the Yucaipa Police Department. According to Caltrans, State Route 38 was shut down from Mill Creek Road to Lakewood Road in both directions.
