Three Injured, Hundreds Evacuated as Southern California Wildfire Rages

A wildfire raged out of control in the high desert east of Los Angeles on Wednesday, injuring two firefighters and one civilian and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of residents of three small communities.

Join Our Community of Science Lovers!

By Dan Whitcomb

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A wildfire raged out of control in the high desert east of Los Angeles on Wednesday, injuring two firefighters and one civilian and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of residents of three small communities.

The fire broke out shortly after 2 p.m. near a back-country road south of Banning, about 90 miles outside Los Angeles in Riverside County.

On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.

Within hours it had blackened more than 5,000 acres, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Daniel Berlandt said.

The department's website said three people had been injured but provided no additional details.

Poppet Flats, Twin Pines and Silent Valley were under mandatory evacuation orders, and Highway 243 had been closed, Berlandt said. Shelters had been set up at high schools in nearby Hemet and Beaumont, the department's website said.

Berlandt said several structures had been destroyed by the flames, but it was not immediately clear whether any of them were homes. Local TV images showed what appeared to be single-family residences in flames.

He said some 500 firefighters assisted by water-dropping aircraft were working to protect homes and other buildings, and more crews were on the way.

Authorities have not yet determined how the fire started. Berlandt said conditions were "extremely dry" in the area and across California and the West.

The fire is the latest to break out during what experts say could become one of the worst U.S. fire seasons. A Colorado wildfire, ranked as that state's most destructive on record, ravaged more than 500 homes and killed two people.

In Arizona, 19 members of an elite "hotshot" firefighting crew died while battling a wildfire on June 30.

(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb and Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Editing by Xavier Briand and Ken Wills)

It’s Time to Stand Up for Science

If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.

I’ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.

If you subscribe to Scientific American, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.

In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can't-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world's best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.

There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you’ll support us in that mission.

Thank you,

David M. Ewalt, Editor in Chief, Scientific American