A brush fire erupted in a rural community west of Perris in Riverside County Tuesday afternoon, destroying several structures and vehicles.
The Juniper Fire was first reported around 2:30 p.m. in the area of Santa Rosa Mine Road and El Nido Road, and had spread to 55 acres as of 5:45 p.m., according to Cal Fire.
Mandatory evacuations were ordered and reduced to a warning around 9 p.m. for homes south of Santa Rosa Mine Road, east of El Baquero Road, west of Maywood Club Road and north of Rocky Hills.
Riverside County’s Emergency Management Department opened an evacuation center at Pinacate Middle School at 1990 S. A Street in Perris.
Crews dug containment lines as air tankers and helicopters battled the fire from above with water and flame retardant.
Sky5 footage shows several structures, including at least two homes, along with several cars were destroyed.
Sky5 reporter Gil Leyvas described the area as primarily ranch and farmland with scattered homes, barns and outbuildings.
There were no immediate reports of injuries and the cause of the fire was under investigation. Around 6 p.m., most of the flames were extinguished while six air tankers and four helicopters continued extinguishing any smoldering spots area.
“It looks like everything is gone on their property,” said resident Chrystine Morelos of the fire’s destruction. “We’re fortunate enough that it didn’t get our house.”
Although Morelos’ home was spared, her neighbors were not as lucky as the lot was left completely charred.
Despite the relief of their home being safe, Morelos’ dog, a 7-year-old boxer named Dixie, escaped during the chaos and remains nowhere to be found on Tuesday night.
“She’s just like a family member to us so she means a lot to me,” said Morelos tearfully. “We’re just hoping we can find her anywhere or somebody can call her and take her to the pound and we can get her later on.”
The blaze comes as Southern California braces for its first heat wave of the summer with temperatures expected to approach 100 degrees in areas of Riverside County Friday through Tuesday.
“I would just advise folks as we’re coming into a very busy fire season and if you haven’t already been impacted by a fire like this, make sure your property is ready so that when a fire does come, you’re ready,” said Rob Roseen with CalFire/Riverside County Fire.
Residents in Riverside County can sign up at Alert RivCo to receive the latest alerts and warnings from public safety officials in the event of emergencies.
Anyone who was evacuated and is heading back home is asked to use caution as fire crews continue working throughout the night to build containment.