Crime & Safety
PHOTOS ADDED: Aircraft Attack Brush Fire Above Banning Near Highway 243
The fire was reported at 5:03 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 3, near the 243 and Mount Edna Road, according to Cal Fire. Just after 6 p.m., four tanker planes and three helicopters were among the aircraft assigned to the blaze.
Updated 10:15 p.m. The fire was declared 100 percent contained before 9 p.m.
Highway 243 was expected to remain closed due to firefighter safety, a Cal Fire spokeswoman said. The closure was to be re-evaluated at 11 p.m.
Updated 8:25 p.m. Cal Fire upgraded the burned acreage estimate to 33 acres just after 8 p.m.
Find out what's happening in Banning-Beaumontwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire was under investigation.
Updated 7:20 p.m. The fire above Banning near Highway 243 was about 20 acres as of 7 p.m., and 100 percent containment was expected by 8 p.m., according to Cal Fire.
Find out what's happening in Banning-Beaumontwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Crews were expected to remain on scene this evening and full control of the fire was hoped for by 8 a.m. Thursday, Cheri Patterson of Cal Fire-Riverside County said.
Updated 6:40 p.m. Firefighters were making progress on a fire above south Banning, a Cal Fire spokeswoman said just after 6 p.m. Wednesday.
The fire near Mount Edna Road and Highway 243 was estimated at 20 acres, with potential to burn 50, according to Cal Fire.
Residents who live above the fire were being asked to stay out to the area. A closure was requested earlier at San Gorgonio Avenue and Wesley Street in south Banning, according to Cal Fire.
Posted 5:53 p.m. Aircraft and more than 130 firefighters responded Wednesday afternoon to a brush fire burning near Mount Edna Road and Highway 243 above Banning.
The fire was reported at 5:03 p.m., according to Cal Fire. By 5:40 p.m., the blaze was estimated at five acres with a potential for 50, Cheri Patterson of Cal Fire-Riverside County said.
Four tanker planes and two helicopters were among the aircraft assigned to the blaze.
Mount Edna Road is about halfway up the switchbacking 243 to Twin Pines.
Banning police and the California Highway Patrol were requested to close Highway 243 at Wesley Street, south of Banning High School in south Banning.
Conditions in Banning when the fire was reported included temperatures around 94 degrees and 14 percent relative humidity, according to Cal Fire.
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