Fire crews are continuing to battle several large fires in Riverside County.
The largest one, the “Rabbit Fire”, broke out in the area of Jack Rabbit Trail and Gilman Springs Road east of Mystic Lake on Friday and quickly spread to over 4,500 acres by 6 a.m. Saturday morning.
According to fire officials, the blaze is only 5 percent contained. The flames are mostly burning in an agricultural area but have forced the evacuation of approximately 25 homes.
The Riverside County Fire Department announced on Twitter that the evacuation order has been issued for the areas north of Gilman Springs Road, east of Jack Rabbit Trail, south of First Street, west of California Avenue and the 79 Freeway. The evacuation warning was extended to include the area north of the County Landfill on Lambs Canyon Road and West of Manzanita Park Road.
Tall grass and high temperatures are making the task of battling the “Rabbit Fire” much more difficult for firefighters, and other nearby wildfires are destroying structures and forcing evacuations.
One man was injured after his hand was burned when he was near a vehicle that caught fire, authorities said.
The fires come as much of Southern California is under an excessive heat warning, with temperatures in Riverside County exceeding 100 degrees on Saturday and Sunday.
Authorities are still investigating the cause of the fires.