The southeast of Hemet raging Fairview Fire caused two fatalities and one injury while advancing quickly to the west in the sweltering heat. As of Monday night, the Fairview Fire had spread to 2,000 acres.
Around 4 p.m. on Monday, Cal Fire first received a report of the Fairview Fire, which was burning in an unincorporated area close to Hemet near the intersection of Fairview Avenue and Bautista Road. By 4:50 pm, the fire had spread quickly and had reached a size of about 500 acres.
By 10 p.m. on Monday, the fire had grown to 2,000 acres and was only 5% contained. One injury and two fatalities were confirmed by Cal Fire. Seven buildings were demolished, while several more were damaged.
Just after 5 o’clock in the evening, a KABC-Los Angeles aircraft captured what seemed to be multiple residential buildings in Hemet on fire.
Initially, 1,584 residences were subject to an evacuation order in the region 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.
The region south of Stetson Avenue, north of Cactus Valley Road, west of Fairview Avenue, and east of State Street are now included in the evacuation order that was initially issued on Monday evening.
Tahquitz High School, 4425 Titan Trail in Hemet, is a care and reception location.
As of Monday evening at six o’clock, a few hundred firefighters were present.
According to the San Diego office of the National Weather Service, the Fairview Fire region is now experiencing extremely hot, dry, and windy conditions, with winds predicted to subside this evening. Overnight, though, the weather is anticipated to stay warm and dry.
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.
The fire covered 200 acres and was 0% contained by 7:15 p.m.