Fire In Hemet Grown Nearly 3,000 Acres, The Extent of Damages Becoming Clear

(CTN News) – Firefighters struggled to contain the Fairview Fire in Hemet Tuesday as it grew to roughly 3,000 acres. Two lives have already been lost, along with a number of homes.

A map released by the state-funded fire intelligence program, FIRIS, shows that the fire has reached 2,965 acres as of the latest map.

There has been a lot of unpredictability in fire activity of late, according to Cal Fire spokesperson Rob Roseen, who was on the scene Tuesday morning.

The brush Fire in Hemet began around 2 p.m. on Monday in Riverside County and spread rapidly.

During a morning news conference, Fire In Hemet Cal Fire Chief Josh Janssen reported that two people were killed and another injured while attempting to flee.

Investigations are being conducted by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. At this time, it is unclear if the two people were related or from the same household.

According to Janssen, he was unable to provide an update on how many structures were destroyed or damaged. As of Monday night, Fire in Hemet Cal Fire reported seven structures destroyed.

On the now-barren mountains east of State Street and south of Stetson Avenue, several charred homes were visible on Sky5.

The firefighting crews had to contend with not only challenging terrain, smoke and flames, but also triple-digit temperatures. A prolonged heat wave could keep temperatures near that number again Tuesday in Hemet, where the high reached 105 degrees on Monday afternoon.

Approximately 3,400 homes were evacuated south of Stetson Avenue, north of Cactus Valley Road, west of Bautista Canyon, and east of State Street.

Tahquitz High School located at 4425 Titan Trail in Hemet was designated as an evacuation center. Riverside County Emergency Management Department spokesperson Shane Reichardt explained that small animals could be brought there.

All schools due to Fire in Hemet Unified School District will be closed on Tuesday. During the closure, the District will provide updates to students and their families, Reichardt said.

The Eastern Municipal Water District, which services the area, issued a boil water warning to about 50 customers. Power outages affected the pressure in one of the district’s water tanks, resulting in the warning.

It is expected that residents have already been notified about the warning. While workers restore the system to full function and test the water quality, this warning could remain in place for at least 48 hours.

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