Crime & Safety
Brush Fire on Slopes Below Twin Pines Forces Closure of Highway 243
The fire was reported at 12:44 p.m. between 3,000 feet and 4,000 feet elevation, next to curves of Highway 243 about a mile below Twin Pines. More than 80 firefighters and inmate crew members responded, along with aircraft.
A brush fire broke out next to Highway 243 above Banning Tuesday and prompted authorities to close the winding mountain road while firefighters worked to contain the blaze.
More than 80 firefighters, including crews from Beaumont and Oak Glen Conservation Camp, responded along with two tanker planes and one water-dropping helicopter, according to Cal Fire.
The fire was reported at 12:44 p.m. and declared contained at 1:20 p.m. Several acres burned, a supervisor at the scene estimated, probably more than the initial 3 to 4 acres reported by the first units on scene.
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Firefighters worked in temperatures above 90 degrees to stop the forward spread of the blaze.
Highway 243 was closed at the bottom of the hill in Banning and about a quarter-mile uphill from the burned area. The road remained closed as of 2:35 p.m. due to fire trucks and water trucks on the highway.
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No injuries or property damage were reported.
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