A pair of brush fires near Cherry Valley triggered a mandatory evacuation order after burning through at least 1,720 acres Friday night, authorities said.
Dubbed the Apple Fire, the incident was reported at 4:55 p.m. in an area north of the Riverside County community, in the 9000 block of Oak Glen Road, according to local fire officials. An estimated 250 firefighters responded to the blaze as it burned in several spots along Oak Glen Road.
Officials said the fire is 0% contained as of 11:30 p.m.
Mandatory evacuation orders were in place in the Cherry Valley and Banning Bench areas, for residents north of Dutton Street, east of Oak Glen Road, south of the Riverside County line and north of Gilman Street in the Banning Bluff area. Evacuations were also issued for the area north of Cherry Valley Boulevard, west of Highland Springs and east of Beaumont Avenue around 11 p.m.
Officials had earlier said the area was south of County Line Road, but later updated the location.
The evacuation center is at Beaumont High School, located at 39139 Cherry Valley Blvd. Animals can also be taken to that location.
Aerial video from Sky5 showed the embers were closing in on homes in the area of Camino del Norte, Apple Tree Lane and Quail Road.
The Apple Fire consists of two separate blazes burning near each other, according to Riverside County fire officials. But by later Friday night, it appeared they had merged into one large fire.
The fire was burning north of Beaumont and northeast of Cherry Valley.
