Large fires have prompted evacuation orders for 1500 homes in Riverside, California. Recent heatwaves across the West have left the ground dry, leaving room for wildfires to quickly spread out of control.
Wildfires ignited over the weekend engulfed hundreds of acres of land in California and Utah, prompting evacuation orders as they torched homes, threatened nearby communities and, in Salt Lake City, burned near the state capitol.
The fires roared across the West amid an unrelenting stretch of intense heat that’s expected to continue through the week. The National Weather Service has issued heat warnings and advisories from southern California to Washington, Idaho and Wyoming as triple digit temperatures are expected across multiple states.
In Southern California, the so-called Hawarden Fire, just four miles south of downtown Riverside, began on Sunday afternoon and grew over 520 acres, forcing residents to leave their homes as the fire rapidly expanded. Three homes were destroyed in a roaring blaze that was captured on video by local news crews.
Riverside Deputy Fire Chief Steve McKinster said at a news conference Monday that four other structures were damaged and that 1,500 homes are in the surrounding area. Damage assessments were set to begin Monday morning, he said. One firefighter has sustained a minor injury, McKinster said.
Another wildfire in Riverside County, the Eagle Fire, broke out on Sunday and spread across 1,600 acres, triggering evacuation orders that were eventually downgraded as firefighters were able to contain at least 50% of the blaze and stop its “forward progress,” according to Cal Fire. The blaze began in the city of Corona, about 18 miles southwest of Riverside. Several locations remained under evacuation warnings through Monday morning.