Firefighting crews are making significant progress controlling a Pala brush fire that forced evacuations and has burned more than 250 acres since it began Friday.
The fire, called the Henderson fire, was 80% contained Sunday afternoon and should be 100% contained sometime Monday, Cal Fire Capt. Mike Cornette said.
Hand crews and dozers were able to complete a control line around the perimeter of the fire overnight, partly thanks to moisture and onshore influences that fire activity, Cal Fire said on X.
The focus on Sunday was strengthening the control lines, which are the physical barriers used to mitigate hazards and extinguish hot spots. Cornette said there’s still a lot of work to do.
The fire was first reported around 5:40 p.m. Friday on Henderson Road near Oaks Road near the Riverside County line and was 40% contained as of Saturday evening.
The blaze destroyed a travel trailer, officials said. A person who occupied the trailer was placed in with Red Cross resources.
At the peak of the fire there were 618 people under evacuation orders, Cornette said. The orders were later reduced to warnings, and the last of the warnings was lifted about 8:30 p.m. Sunday.
It was unknown how many people actually left their homes, but four families spent Friday night at a temporary evacuation point at the Pala Casino parking lot off state Route 76. No one was reported there Sunday afternoon.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation.
