Crime & Safety

UPDATE: Tanker Pilots Using Hemet, San Bernardino Bases to Fight Falls Fire

For Tuesday coverage of the Falls Fire start here:

Falls Fire Update: Evacuation Orders Lifted for Lakeland Village
Update 9:19 p.m. 
The Falls Fire that started Monday in the Cleveland National Forest and prompted evacuations in communities including Lakeland Village next to Lake Elsinore had burned an estimated 1,500 acres by 9 p.m., according to the Forest Service.

Earlier Monday evening, Lake Elsinore-Wildomar Patch confirmed outbuildings were damaged on a 60-acre church property on Ortega Highway: Mountainside Ministries Christian Church Damaged by Falls Fire.

Update 7:26 p.m. 
The Red Cross shelter for evacuees from the Falls Fire on Monday evening was at Lakeside High School, 32593 Riverside Drive in Lake Elsinore.

According to City of Lake Elsinore officials, household pets could be taken to 29001 Bastron Avenue in Lake Elsinore, and livestock were welcome at Elsinore High School, 21800 Canyon Drive in Wildomar.

Mandatory evacuations were in place Monday evening for Lakeland Village, Decker Canyon and Rancho Capistrano residents.

The evacuation perimeter in Lakeland Village was described as residences between Grand Avenue at Ortega Highway to Grand Avenue at Corydon Road, according to the Forest Service.

Update 6:12 p.m. 
The Falls Fire that started earlier Monday near Highway 74 in the Cleveland National Forest had burned an estimated 1,200 acres and prompted evacuations for communities including Lakeland Village next to Lake Elsinore as of 6:10 p.m.

Update 5:52 p.m. 
There were about 265 personnel assigned to the 800-acre Falls Fire near Lake Elsinore as of 5:45 p.m., according to the Forest Service.

Mandatory evacuations were in place for Lakeland Village, Decker Canyon and Rancho Capistrano residents.

Ortega Highway was closed to non-residents, according to the Forest Service. The closures were at Grand Avenue on the east side of the 74 in Lake Elsinore and at Antonio Parkway in Orange County.

Update 5:43 p.m. 
A woman visiting her parents in Lakeland Village said their home was not equipped with a land line so she had not received an order to evacuate as of 5:35 p.m.

Dena Pugh told Patch she was visiting from Northern California and she sent a photo earlier Monday from near Grand Avenue and Adelfa Street in Lakeland Village. The photo is attached to this report.

Update 5:33 p.m. 
Evacuations have been ordered for Lakeland Village on the southeast edge of Lake Elsinore due to the 800-acre Falls Fire.

Reverse 9-1-1 calls were going out to Lakeland Village residents and a Red Cross shelter was ready at Lakeside High School in Lake Elsinore, according to City of Lake Elsinore officials.

Evacuated livestock can be taken to Elsinore High School, Lake Elsinore officials said.

Update 5:15 p.m. 
A Forest Service law enforcement vehicle was reported broken down just after 5 p.m. on or near the Ortega Highway as the Falls Fire continued burning Monday in the Cleveland Forest.

A wrecker crew was called out to come through the closure on the 74 on the Orange County side, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Update 5:11 p.m. 
The Falls Fire in the Cleveland National had grown to an estimated 800 acres by 5 p.m. and it was moving east toward Lakeland Village, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Just after 5 p.m. the Highway Patrol advised Ortega Highway was "no longer passable" for units trying to make it to incident command, which earlier Monday was located across the 74 from the Candy Store.

Update 3:58 p.m. 
The Falls Fire near Highway 74 had burned an estimated 500 acres west of Lake Elsinore as of 3:35 p.m., a spokeswoman for the Cleveland National Forest tells Patch.

"We have three strike teams, 55 engines and 16 crews," Vickie Wright with USFS said from unified incident command across the 74 from the Candy Store.

"We have five tankers and multiple helicopters, and the DC-10 is on order," Wright said.

"We have no injuries at this point," Wright said. "The evacuations are for Decker Canyon and Rancho Capistrano. The evac center is at Lakeside High in Lake Elsinore."

Some livestock in the Rancho Capistrano were being evacuated, Wright said. She said she expected to have info about an evacuation area for animals soon.

Update 3:05 p.m. 
Mandatory evacuations were ordered Monday afternoon for Decker Canyon and Rancho Capistrano residents due to the Falls Fire burning near Ortega Highway in the Cleveland National Forest, according to the Forest Service.

"Ortega Highway is closed to non-residents," Forest Service officials said in an update. "Closures are at Grand Ave in Lake Elsinore and Antonio Parkway on the west side."

Posted 2:25 p.m.
 Pilots fighting the Falls Fire near Ortega Highway in the Cleveland National Forest on Monday were using Hemet and San Bernardino airfields to refuel and take on more retardant, a base manager tells Redlands-Loma Linda Patch.

Smoke from the fire was visible Monday afternoon from Beaumont.

The fire was first reported around 10 a.m. Aug. 5, according to Cal Fire.

"We have one air attack on it and a tanker from Idaho on the way," San Bernardino Tanker Base manager Bob Will said in a phone interview shortly after 2 p.m. "Four S-2s are using Hemet right now."

The wildland fire was burning in the Cleveland National Forest west of Lake Elsinore, according to Cal Fire and the Forest Service.


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