Thousands of people have fled their homes as the Highland Fire continues to rage in Southern California.
The blaze emerged shortly after noon local time on Monday, expanding from 14 acres to around 1,219 acres by 7:30 p.m. (10:30 p.m. ET) the same day, according to updates from the Riverside County Fire Department. As of Wednesday morning, the fire has been 10 percent contained and encompasses 2,487 acres.
Fire officials ordered the evacuation of areas including Aguanga, as well as rural places to the north. The evacuation map grew quickly, with three updates Monday night. A fourth evacuation map update was implemented Tuesday morning.
Getty
The evacuation map for the Highland Fire shows:
- The first evacuation order was declared for residents south of Sage Road, north of Cottonwood Creek, west of Boulder Vista and east of Becker Lane.
- An update followed at 7:04 p.m. on Monday, ordering people south of Highway 371, west of Soreson and north of County Line Road to evacuate.
- Another evacuation order followed at 8:30 p.m. Monday for east of Vail Lake Resort, west of Shirley Way, north of David Street and south of Pueblo Road/Exa Ely Road.
- On Tuesday morning, a fourth evacuation order was issued for areas north of the San Diego County line, south of Highway 79, east of Forest Route 8S07 and west of Crosley Truck Trail.
Evacuation warnings extend even further, alerting residents that an order may soon be implemented.
The evacuation warning map for the Highland Fire is:
- West of Cahuilla Tribal Reservation Boundary
- North of County Line Road
- North of Cleveland National Forest
- South of Watts Road, Esplendida Way and Avenida Bravura
- East of Pauba Road and De Portola Road
- West of Round Top Canyon Road
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire) incident report for the Highland Fire was updated at 7:42 p.m. local time on Tuesday. As of the most recent update, the fire had injured one firefighter, destroyed three structures and damaged six structures. More than 2,000 structures are threatened by the fire.
“The evacuation orders and warnings have stayed in place because we made a lot of progress yesterday as far as cooling down the fire. But then we have these winds coming through really pushing out of the east, northeast,” CalFire Captain and Public Information Officer Thomas Shoots told Newsweek.
Shoots said CalFire will reevaluate the evacuation orders and consider lifting them this afternoon if conditions allow.
Evacuation orders are in place for 1,220 homes and 4,270 people. The evacuation warnings are in place for 1,136 homes and 3,976 people.
The update also included a list of road closures:
- Highway 79 from Vail Lake to San Diego County line
- Sage Road from Highway 79 to Wilson Valley Road
- Willson Valley Road from Sage Road to Highway 371
- Highway 371 from Highway 79 to Wilson Valley Road
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.