By Gail Weston
The Press Enterprise
The wildfire reported Monday, Sept. 17, on the Banning Bench has been contained at 50 acres, according to a CalFire/Riverside County Fire Department news release.
The fire was reported encircled at 10:30 a.m. Monday, the release stated. The state/county agency took over supervision of the fire mop up from San Bernardino National Forest crews.
The fire, named the Bluff 2 Fire, initially was reported at 7:56 a.m. to the Forest Service dispatch center, said John Miller, national forest spokesman, earlier in the day.
The fire was reported in the Black Bench area off Bluff Street near Dorianna Lane on the Banning Bench. It is within the Banning city limits, the news release stated. It is near national forest land.
Doug Hammer, who lives in the area, said there were no homes threatened and the fire burned west of Dorianna and Peach and about 500 feet to the north.
Two air tankers from Hemet-Ryan Air Attack Base initially were called to assist, but Hammer said he last saw air tankers about 10 a.m. He also saw two helicopters, making water drops, and two bulldozers.
The bench is a plateau with scattered rural homes above the more-developed area of the city.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
The U.S. Forest Service sent four engine crews and a water tender to the fire.
CalFire/Riverside County Fire Department had 117 firefighters assigned to the blaze, according to the release.
The two agencies jointly managed the fire fight initially because if it spread it was a potential threat to the national forest, Miller said.
Some years ago, a 1,500-home development in the vicinity, called Black Bench, was proposed by developer SunCal. But in 2008, a Riverside County Superior Court judge ruled the environmental impact report was insufficient and ordered the city to vacate its project approvals.
Copyright 2012 The Press Enterprise, Inc.
All Rights Reserved