Orange County Girl Scouts who were camping in Mountain Center were forced to evacuate late Wednesday as the Cranston Fire burned out of control.
About 9:45 p.m., Camp Scherman was under mandatory evacuation and the group visiting from Orange County had to leave, the group said on their website.
Camper buses picked up the troupe about 11:55 p.m. and they were eventually dropped off at the Village at Orange early Thursday.
At 3:30 a.m. officials updated the website indicating that the campers returned safely.
“Thank you for your support during this morning’s evacuation,” officials wrote in an update on the site about 7:45 a.m. Thursday.
Some of the campers were separated from their luggage during the evacuation and officials were working to get the girls their bags.
The Girl Scouts were among 3,200 people who were asked to evacuate in the Idyllwild, Apple Canyon, Lake Hemet, Mountain Center, Hurkey Creek and Camp Scherman areas during the Cranston Fire.
The blaze started off Highway 74 in the San Jacinto Mountains around noon Wednesday. It has burned 4,700 acres, or roughly 7 square miles, and was just 5 percent contained. Five residences have been destroyed.
Brandon McGlover, 32, of Temecula, was arrested on suspicion of setting at least five fires in the southwest Riverside County on Wednesday, including the Cranston Fire.
