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Evacuation order were lifted as firefighters made progress battling the Hill Fire as it burned through 628 acres Wednesday, stopping the wildfire’s forward rate of spread in Jurupa Valley by evening, according to Riverside County fire officials. The Hill Fire was reported just before 10 a.m. at Granite Hill Drive and Pyrite Street, according to the Riverside County Fire Department. It was 15% contained by 6:30 p.m. Mandatory evacuations had been ordered for several communities as fierce Santa Ana winds contributed to critical fire weather conditions and other blazes across Southern California. But all evacuation orders for the Hill Fire were lifted about 7 p.m., according to Cal Fire. One person who suffered minor injuries was taken to a hospital and two homes were damaged, one of them a mobile home, fire officials said. Shortly after the fire broke out, residents of a skilled nursing facility — many of them in wheelchairs — could be seen awaiting transportation to hospitals. An employee of Riverside Heights Healthcare Center said the facility had been evacuated. Loose horses, a pair of cats and more than a dozen dogs were rescued by Riverside County Animal Services. Two evacuation centers have been opened:
  • Eleanor Roosevelt High School at 7447 Scholar Way
  • Patriot High School at 4355 Camino Real
The 60 Freeway was temporary closed eastbound at Pedley Road and westbound at Pyrite Street, according to the California Highway Patrol’s Inland Division. It was reopened by about 12:10 p.m. Meanwhile, firefighters in downtown Riverside had a busy afternoon battling the Dexter Fire, which burned at least 30 acres in a river bottom and send burning embers raining down on nearby neighborhoods. Evacuation orders for the Dexter Fire were also lifted Wednesday afternoon.