Fast-Growing Wildfire in Southern California Forces Thousands to Evacuate

A wildfire in Southern California has burned more than 2,000 acres and prompted more than 4,000 people in Riverside County to evacuate.

What is now being called the Highland Fire was first reported on Monday and exploded in size from Monday night and into Tuesday morning, Reuters reported. As of Wednesday morning, only 15% of the 2,487-acre fire was contained by emergency responders, according to an update from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire). There are currently no confirmed casualties as a result of the fire. The flames didn’t spread much overnight, but “steady winds with low relative humidity may increase the risk of erratic fire behavior,” according to Cal Fire.

More than 4,200 residents were under mandatory evacuation orders, and about 3,970 residents were under evacuation warnings, Reuters reported. “We ask that the public remain vigilant,” Maggie Cline de la Rosa, a public information officer for Cal Fire, said in a video uploaded to X yesterday. “If you received an evacuation order, please leave. If you received an evacuation warning, please continue to pay close attention to those.”

A tweet from California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services encouraged those who have been evacuated to head to state shelters if they don’t know where to go while they wait out the fire.

The flames were fueled to grow so quickly by desert winds called the Santa Ana winds. These events occur several times a year, and often create fire hazards in California. But this year has been mild compared to some other wildfire seasons, Reuters reported. Winter storms from earlier this year have significantly decreased the dry conditions throughout California. Before the storms, most of the state experienced a megadrought throughout 2022.

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