California Wildfire Burns Through Nearly 2,000 Acres, Firefighters Gain Ground

A wildfire in Riverside County, California, has burned down nearly 2,000 acres on Sunday until firefighters managed to gain ground on the fast-growing blaze.

According to Fox News, around 130 firefighters worked to contain of the wildfire, dubbed the Sanderson Fire, which progressed to 1,933 acres.

It started around 1 a.m. near La Borde Canyon Road and Jack Rabbit Trail and burned south of Beaumont, California. The cause of the wildfire is unknown, said a report from CBS Los Angeles.

California Highway Patrol said it prompted the closure of Gilman Springs Road in both directions.

According to NBC Los Angeles, there was an evacuation warning issued to residents north of Gilman Springs Road and south of Timothy Lane, including Jerry Street, McGehee Drive, Alberta Lane, Laurene Lane, Lisa Lane and Kevin Road.

As of 12:45 p.m. all evacuation orders had been lifted.

Firefighters Had Limited Access to Wildfire

Firefighters also had to get help from three helicopters, six air tankers and four fire crews to stop the forward spread of the wildfire on Sunday afternoon.

In part, the blaze reached that magnitude of damage due to the fire crews' limited access to rugged terrain, along with windy conditions that fanned the flames.

There were only less than a dozen homes impacted by the flames, fire officials said.

Among those impacted was Raul Solorio, 42, who lives along Gilman Springs.

His family planned to visit his mother in Perris that Sunday but since the fire broke out, they decided to monitor the flames and get ready to evacuate if needed.

He told Desert Sun that the Sanderson Fire was "more of a concern than a scare."

He said the heavy smoke was noticeable around 4 a.m. and flames became visible to him when he woke up at around 7 a.m.

"It was pretty intense," Solorio said. "We were moving around, checking the windows, going outside."

He also took notice of how empty the Gilman Springs Road had been, as it was a departure from its busy days as major thoroughfare. Solorio said it was "rare" to see it empty, even on a Sunday.

Wildfire Only 10% Contained

Even though fire crews had some progress against the fire, it is only 10% contained as of 1 p.m. that day, an update from Cal Fire said.

Until the flames get completely contained, fire crews are expected to remain on the scene, the agency said.

No injuries were reported as of noon but it burned through the Moreno Valley golf course Quail Ranch, Cal Fire Capt. Fernando Herrera told Desert Sun.

Herrera said the fire damaged the greens and "pretty much ate up the golf course" which hadn't been used recently.

The entrance sign to the course was destroyed, leaving on the clubhouse and cement pathway unscathed.

By Sunday afternoon, the smell of smoke lingered in the air and there were fields of blackened vegetation along Gilman Springs.

As of this recent incident, California had already gone through some 9,600 fires for 2020.

More than four million acres of land had been burned, alongside more than 10,000 structures that were damaged or destroyed.