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MURRIETA, Calif. (AP) – Crews are making progress in fighting a forest fire in Riverside County that has resulted in forced evacuations and road closures.
Cal Fire officials said on Friday that the so-called Tenaja fire burned 2,000 acres in Murrieta and the community of La Cresta and was confined to 20 percent.
All evacuation orders remained in place at 6:30.
On Thursday, the crews were able to save several houses after the gusts of wind that pushed the forest fire at the edge of several neighborhoods.
INTERACTIVE MAP: Fire evacuation zones in Tenaja, road closures
Renewed winds were a challenge for firefighters as the flames burned brush and trees near homes. Two structures suffered minor damage.
"The front of the fire fell directly into the neighborhood, there was just a massive amount of fuel on those slopes," Capt said. Fernando Herrera of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The aircraft was producing drops of water and self-timer continuously, he added.
Renee Harshman said that she could see Tenaja's fire developing before dawn from her bedroom window in the Copper Canyon neighborhood in Murrieta, at the southern end of the town. 39; fire.
"It was very scary to watch the flames as it was going up along the ridge," she told Riverside Press-Enterprise. "He came where many people live."
About 570 homes were in the mandatory evacuation zone and another 2,200 were undergoing a voluntary evacuation order, officials said.
Firefighters protected equestrian farms near La Cresta as gusts of wind fanned flames and thick smoke on the west side of the fire, Herrera said.
The fire erupted on Wednesday afternoon on rural land and erratic winds quickly pushed the flames to homes located about 115 km southeast of Los Angeles.
The cause may be due to lightning, as thunderstorms were caused by hot, heavy weather. Lightning has unleashed several small fires in the forest north of Los Angeles. Thunderstorms were possible until Friday, announced the National Meteorological Service.
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