By GILLIAN FLACCUS
The Associated Press
CALIMESA, Calif. - Fire crews made progress Thursday against a 6,000-acre wildfire in northern Riverside County that threatened homes and led to a freeway closure but were bracing for hot, dry and windy conditions later in the day.
During the early morning hours, firefighters took advantage of cool, calm air to set a series of back fires to burn off thick brush near homes before the expected resurgence of Santa Ana winds.
The Woodhouse Fire was 25 percent contained, up from 5 percent the night before, said Engineer Rick Griggs, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and Riverside County Fire Department.
Residents of about 20 homes closest to the fire who were urged to evacuate Wednesday were told they could return to their homes, he said.
“The weather was definitely in our favor,” said Jason Neuman, a fire captain with those agencies.
A 10-mile stretch of the 60 Freeway was closed Wednesday after a wall of flames roared to its edge, but the freeway was reopened Thursday around 8 a.m., Griggs said.
The National Weather Service forecast called for temperatures in the 90s, low humidity and winds gusting to 45 mph in the canyons.
The blaze, which erupted at about 3 p.m. Wednesday, threatened about 100 homes and five commercial properties in a sparsely populated, rural area between the 60 Freeway and Interstate 10 near the city of Moreno Valley, about 60 miles east of Los Angeles, said Patrick Chandler a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Riverside County Fire Department.
Paul Walker watched late Wednesday as firefighters rushed to put out a hot spot about 100 yards from the single-story brick and stucco home he shares with his wife and 94-year-old grandmother. The fire was ignited by an ember from one of the intentionally lit back fires.
Walker, 40, said he wanted to evacuate but firefighters assured him he would be safe and that it would probably be more difficult to move his grandmother than remain in his home, which has a kidney shaped pool and is tucked up against a hillside.
“The captain assured us the structures wouldn’t burn,” said Walker, a general contractor. “Everything they said would happen is happening just like they said it would.”
There were 500 firefighters on the scene, with 60 engines, seven bulldozers, four air tankers, and six helicopters. No injuries were reported or structures lost.
In other wildfires, a blaze that started in Mexico jumped the U.S. border and burned uncontrolled across about 3,100 acres and was 10 percent contained Thursday morning, said Roxanne Provaznik, a CDF spokeswoman.
About 2,100 acres on the U.S. side of the border had burned, Provaznik said.
Fire officials ordered mandatory evacuations for about 20 rural homes in the area, said San Diego County Sheriff’s spokesman Capt. Glenn Revell. Animal control officers were helping residents evacuate horses and other livestock.
The blaze was sparked by a structure fire in Mexico that spread to the brush, officials said.
Another fire broke out about 5 a.m. Wednesday in the Barrett Junction area of eastern San Diego County and burned 50 acres before it was fully contained about 11 a.m., officials said. The cause of the fire was under investigation.
Firefighters continued to put out hot spots from the 24,175-acre Topanga Fire that was 100 percent contained Tuesday, said Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Ron Haralson said.
The fire started Sept. 28 and destroyed three homes, but a well-coordinated response helped firefighters save thousands of houses.
In San Bernardino County, a 935-acre fire burning in rugged terrain in and around San Bernardino National Forest was 100 percent contained.
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Staff Writers Ian Gregor, Paul Chavez in Los Angeles and Seth Hettena in San Diego contributed to this story.