Overview
- The brush blaze began near Via Volcano and Tenaja roads and by nightfall on Tuesday had burned roughly 125 to 137 acres with crews reporting about 25% containment.
- Multiple agencies — Riverside County fire units, Murrieta Fire & Rescue, Riverside and Corona departments, Cal Fire-San Diego County — responded with engines, hand crews, three Cal Fire air tankers and two water-dropping helicopters.
- Authorities issued evacuation orders for several Riverside County zones, closed Tenaja Road for public safety, and set up shelters for people and large animals with most orders later downgraded to warnings.
- No injuries were reported and investigators have not yet determined a cause, while steep, rural terrain and dispersed dirt roads have limited ground access and complicated suppression efforts.
- The fire adds pressure to an active Southern California fire season that has strained aerial and mutual-aid resources and could affect how quickly crews can fully contain the incident in the coming days.