A fire broke out and quickly consumed 200 acres of brush near the rural community of Juniper Flats in Riverside County on Saturday evening, authorities said.
The blaze, dubbed the Horseshoe Fire, ignited just before 6 p.m. near the 21000 block of Stagecoach Trail, in the Juniper Flats community east of Nuevo, Cal Fire officials said in a written statement.
“The first arriving engine reported the fire burning in heavy fuels with a moderate rate of spread,” according to the statement.
The flames were 10% contained as of 11:30 p.m., officials said.
Fire officials announced evacuation orders for a community of San Jacinto, near Cottonwood Avenue and Warren Road, shortly before 7:30 p.m. About 60 homes were under evacuation orders, while another 40 were considered potentially threatened by the flames.
“Homes, in this community, to the west of Warren Road and south of Mulberry Street are under a mandatory evacuation,” according to the Cal Fire statement.
Alejandra Gonzalez was among the evacuees.
“There is hundreds of cars of people that live in our community that are waiting anxiously and not knowing what’s going to happen,” she told KTLA.
“It’s something you think about or you see, and you never expect it to be you, and when it is, it’s awful,” Gonzalez said.
No injuries have been reported.
More than 200 firefighters responded to the fire, along with two air tankers, a helicopter and two bulldozers.
It’s unclear what ignited the blaze. No further details were immediately available.
A care and reception center for displaced residents was set up at Tahquitz High School, 4425 Titan Trail in Hemet.