A wildfire blackened about 80 acres Wednesday near the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve west of Murrieta, prompting a road closure and stranding school students.
The blaze broke out for unknown reasons about 1:15 p.m. near Clinton Keith Road and Avenida La Cresta and was burning at a moderate rate in dense brush, said Jody Hagemann of the Riverside County Fire Department.
About 280 firefighters, two helicopters, six air tankers and two bulldozers had the blaze 20 percent contained by 3:30 p.m., she said, adding that no structures were immediately affected.
One firefighter was evaluated by paramedics for a heat-related illness, Hageman said.
Clinton Keith Road was closed at Bear Creek Road in Murrieta and motorists were being asked to obey barricades, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The road closure affected students at Cole Canyon Elementary, Thompson Middle School and Murrieta Valley High School, according to Karen Parris, a spokeswoman for the Murrieta Valley School District.
The students were being kept at campus until parents can pick them up or buses get through, Parris said.
Local
Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.
"There is going to be a delay in getting students home today because of the fire," she said about 3 p.m.
Power was shut off at 2:22 p.m. to 1,018 Southern California Edison customers in the Wildomar area at the request of firefighters, said Edison spokeswoman Lauren Bartlett.
