Wildfire Burning Near Banning in Steep, Rugged Terrain
About 200 firefighters were working overnight in low-visibility conditions
NBC Local Media
A wildfire burning was burning in steep, rugged terrain southwest of Banning on Saturday evening.
About 200 firefighters were on the scene of the blaze, which had been dubbed the Range Fire. It was reported at 6:10 p.m. at Old Idyllwild Road near Shirleon Drive (map).
By about 9:30 p.m., the fire had consumed 50 acres acres and was not contained at all, according to an update from Riverside County Fire Department spokeswoman Melody Hendrickson.
Earlier in the evening, she said it was difficult to tell the fire's size, given the terrain.
"It's hard to see out there," she said. "They're up there, hiking around it."
No structures were threatened, Hendrickson reported. The fire was burning uphill in an undeveloped area. Winds were gusting at 8 to 17 mph.
Updates were expected to be posted on the fire department's incident page. The next update was expected at 8 a.m. Sunday.
Another Riverside County fire was contained Saturday evening at 27 acres. The wildland fire was reported at 4:46 p.m. at Christmas Tree Lane and Gilmer Road, west of Perris (map), and was contained within about two hours.
The fires came two days before a red-flag warning was set to be in place in mountains in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
Extreme heat combined with high winds and low humidity was expected to make for prime fire conditions.
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