The Associated Press
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Severe thunderstorms that sparked at least a dozen brush fires in Southern California are helping firefighters gain the upper hand on those blazes.
Fire spokeswoman Cheri Patterson says the 450-acre fire near Temecula is now 10 percent contained. She says rain and humidity assisted firefighters as they built a line around the blaze Thursday evening.
Lightning started at least a dozen fires in Riverside County on Thursday.
Patterson says some residents voluntarily evacuated their homes in the Sage area and couldn’t return after fire officials closed some roads.
The Antelope Valley is under a flash flood warning with forecasts of slow-moving thunderstorms over the high desert.