Two fires break out in Southern California amid Santa Ana winds, triggering evacuations

A pair of brush fires erupted in Southern California on Friday afternoon, forcing evacuations in Los Angeles and Riverside counties as the first major blazes of the season after a winter of intense rains and periods of scorching heat.

The fires were being driven by Santa Ana winds gusting at up to 50 mph across the landscape at times, and light “flashy fuels” including grass and brush.

Crews in Los Angeles gained the upper hand on the Crown fire Friday evening, but the Springs fire in Riverside County continued to advance toward neighborhoods amid strong winds and challenging terrain. The fire had burned 4,176 acres and was 10% contained as of 9 p.m.

“The biggest hurdle for us at this point is being able to get firefighters into those areas with a terrain like that makes it a little bit more difficult,” said Tawny Castro, senior public information officer for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Riverside.

A large area east of Lake Perris in Riverside County remains under an evacuation order. Officials said existing evacuation orders will remain in place until at least Saturday morning.

In Los Angeles County, evacuation orders that had started midday were lifted Friday evening, but evacuation warnings remained in place for Soledad Canyon and Crown Valley Road. That blaze, which was reported at 11:23 a.m., had burned 345 acres near Acton and was 25% contained as of 9 p.m., according to Cal Fire.

In Riverside County, flames from the Springs fire were first reported in the 15900 block of Gilman Springs Road, about 11 a.m., fire officials said.

Hundreds of firefighters were battling the blaze on the ground as air tankers and helicopters dropped water throughout the day. Later, helicopter footage showed darkened neighborhoods cast in an orange glow as the flames moved closer and law enforcement rushed to evacuate homes.

“Their biggest concern right now is the fire does appear to be approaching some residential areas, so they definitely have increased the tanker drops and the fire engines that are in that area,” said Maggie Cline De La Rosa, public information officer for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The flames from the Springs fire were pushed by strong easterly Santa Ana wind gusts from the Banning Pass, said Kyle Wheeler, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s San Diego office. Although the fire’s starting point was not directly in the pass, it was still driven by 30- to 40-mph wind gusts, he said.

“That allowed the fire to set up quickly and become the first wildfire of the season,” Wheeler said.

The fire was described as about 50 acres in size during its first hour, but exploded to 1,000 acres by 1 p.m., according to Cal Fire.

When firefighters first arrived they estimated the flames had a potential to burn through roughly 100 acres, but Alex Izaguirre, a spokesperson with Riverside County Fire, said that quickly changed.

It nearly tripled in size by 3 p.m.

“Wind — that’s the biggest issue right now,” Izaguirre said.

Residents evacuate their homes while Cal Fire Riverside battles the Springs fire near the Rancho Bellagio housing development in Moreno Valley.

(Gary Coronado / For The Times)

Moreno Valley College officials wrote in a statement on Instagram that poor air quality prompted the campus to close Friday afternoon. Officials directed students and faculty to evacuate the area until further notice.

An evacuation center was established at Valley View High School, located at 13135 Nason St. Shelters for pets and livestock have been set up at San Jacinto Animal Shelter, at 581 S. Grand Avenue in San Jacinto.

The fires erupted as much of Southern California is expected to face strong Santa Ana winds this weekend.

Riverside County valleys were under a wind advisory by the National Weather Service on Friday, with constant northeast winds expected to blow between 15 and 30 mph, with gusts up to 50 mph. The high wind advisory was expected to remain in effect until Saturday afternoon.

Wind gusts in the area are expected to slow closer to 30 mph at night, but Wheeler said it might bring little respite if the fire continues to burn.

“It’s going to be weaker winds, but with the flow still coming out of the east, we’re not going to see an increase in relative humidity,” Wheeler said.

Humidity is expected to remain between 10% and 15%, drying out the landscape.

Wind gusts are also expected to pick up once more Saturday afternoon.

Los Angeles County firefighters were seeing similar conditions with the Crown fire, where gusts were measured at up to 55 mph, said David Gomberg, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Oxnard station.

Even though the vegetation is still moist from recent rains, Gomberg said the winds and dry conditions are still enough to spread flames over grassy areas.

Winds are expected to slow down by Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles, but mountain and foothill areas overnight are still expected to stay windy and dry.