Crime & Safety

SILVER FIRE UPDATE: Burn Area is 19,000 Acres, 70 Percent Contained, 11 Injured

Reported by Patch editors Renee Schiavone and Guy McCarthy

For Sunday updates click here:

SILVER FIRE: With More than 45 Structures Destroyed, Residents Warned of Insurance Fraud
Update 10:50 p.m. 
The Sheriff's Department has released more information about the evacuation of Silent Valley RV Park, which remained in effect Saturday night due to the Silver Fire.
Here's the update verbatim:

Temporary Limited Access to Silent Valley RV Park

A limited window will be allotted to recreational vehicle (RV) owners on August 11, 2013, between the hours of 6:00 am and 9:00 am. RV owners that are allowed in will need to leave Silent Valley RV Park by 11:00 am. RV owners will not be allowed re-entry into the Park. RV owners must show proof of identification to enter Silent Valley RV Park and show proof of ownership property, for example, vehicle registration.

Residents are encouraged to please use caution while driving back into the area and resuming day-to-day activities. The Riverside County Sheriff's Department will continue security patrols in these communities are they repopulate and settle.

Evacuation Order: The Silent Valley RV Park evacuation order will remain in place due to safety concerns and the ongoing firefighting operations.

The evacuation order for Twin Pines was lifted at 9 p.m., according to the Sheriff's Department and Cal Fire.

Update 10:20 p.m. 
Here's breakdown of the full statement from Cal Fire earlier Saturday evening about Twin Pines:UPDATE 8/10/2013 7:15 P.M.: The Riverside County Sheriff's Department, upon the recommendation of the CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department/OES, and the United States Forest Service lifted the evacuation order for the community of TWIN PINES effective 9:00 p.m. (8/10/2013).

- Only local residents will be allowed to repopulate with an access pass until further notice.

- Residents must receive an access pass from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department check point at Highway 243 and Poppet Flats Road.

- The pass must be displayed in order to re-enter the evacuated areas. Highway 243 will remain closed north of Poppet Flats Road to Wesley Street in Banning.

- In order to reach Twin Pines, Mt. Edna and Poppet Flats communities, use Highway 74 (East) to Highway 243 (North).

- You will not be able to access the communities of Twin Pines, Mt. Edna or Poppet Flats through the Soboba Indian Reservation or southbound Highway 243 from the City of Banning. 
The Silver Fire burned area remained estimated at 19,000 acres with 70 percent containment.

Update 7:39 p.m.
An evacuation order for the community of Twin Pines will be lifted Saturday night but only local residents will be allowed to repopulate with access passes.

Passes can be acquired at the Riverside County Sheriff's Department checkpoint at Highway 243 and Poppet Flats Road.

Southern California Edison crews earlier today were spotted repairing lines and poles but an estimated time of restoration was not immediately available.


Update 6:55 p.m. 
The Silver Fire in the San Jacinto Mountains was declared 70 percent contained as of 6 p.m. Saturday, according to incident commanders and Cal Fire.

A total of 10 firefighters injuries and one civilian injury had been reported as of 6:50 p.m. Aug. 10, Jody Hagemann of Cal Fire-Riverside County said in a phone interview.
Updated 5:35 p.m.
:
Fire officials Saturday released more details about the man who was severely burned in the Silver Fire when it first broke out Wednesday.

Apparently the man was found on Wolfskill Truck Trail, south of the Old Banning Idyllwild Road, where the fire had overrun him while he was mountain biking on a rural road, Cal Fire/Riverside County fire Battalion Chief Julie Hutchinson wrote in a news release.

The burn victim was trying to escape and find help when Bureau of Land Management and Cal Fire peace officers heard his cries, Hutchinson said.

The man was flown to the burn center at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton.

Authorities said the man did not appear to be involved in the fire, the cause of which is still under investigation.

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Fire crews have the Silver Fire nearly half-way contained, but the size did grow overnight and two more people were injured,  fire officials reported Saturday.

As of 8 a.m., the fast-growing blaze which was first reported Wednesday at 2:05 p.m.-- scorching some 3,000 acres in the first hour alone-- had grown to 19,000 acres, according to the latest incident report provided by the Riverside County Fire Department.

Though the fire did grow overnight, crews reported an increased containment level as well, estimating that figure at 47 percent.

"A total of seven injures have been reported during the fire (six firefighters and one civilian)," the incident report added.  

However, at 11:20 a.m., the fire department reported an additional firefighter injury, described as minor.

Prior to Saturday, there were a total of six injuries.  All have been firefighters expect for one man who suffered severe burns within the first hour of the fire, Patch has confirmed.

To date, more than two dozen homes are known to have burned to the ground, with 26 residences considered lost, along with a commercial property and 21 outbuildings, Cal Fire reported.  Two other homes and 6 outbuildings are listed by Cal Fire as "damaged."  As of Friday night, though, no more structures were considered threatened.

RELATED:  New Victim Resource Links Released by the Sheriff's Department. 


Highway 243 remains closed between Banning and Poppet Flats, but residents in the latter town (as well as those who live in Mt. Edna) may now return home via the highway's Hemet entrance, since evacuations were lifted Friday night for that area.  However, only those who live in the community will be permitted up the roadway, and must obtain a special access pass from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department with proof of residency. 

Those access passes were initially handed out at Hemet High School, but are now only being distributed at the roadblock's entrance, in Hemet, according to the fire department.

Twin Pines and Silent Valley R.V. Park remain closed, and residents of those areas are not permitted up the mountain.

Only Beaumont High School remains open for fire evacuees.

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