SILVER FIRE UPDATE: Evacs Lifted in Some Communities, Fire Estimated at 17,500 Acres

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Friday Update 5:15 p.m.:  Evacuation orders will be lifted as of 6 p.m. for the following communities:

• Snow Creek
• Cabazon
• Mt. Edna
• Poppet Flats

"Only local residents in these affected areas will be allowed to repopulate with an access pass until further notice," an incident report issued by the Riverside County Fire Department at 5 p.m. states.

According to the agency, the sheriff's department will issue those passes starting at 6 p.m.

"Residents must check in at the distribution center to receive an access pass," Cal Fire said. 

The distribution center is at Hemet High School, 41701 East Stetson Avenue.

"We still had some flareups today on the mountain... power lines down," Ventura County Fire Captain Steve Kaufmann told Patch. "Until it's safe to repopulate the other areas, the evacuation orders are in place."

Update 4:15 p.m.:

The estimated size of the Silver Fire has grown to 17,500 acres, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.  

It is still 25 percent contained, the agency said.

Want to help fire victims?  Find out how here.

As for evacuations, as of this time they all remain in place, according to Ventura County Fire Captain Steve Kaufmann, who is acting as a public information officer in the Silver Fire incident.

According to Kaufmann, the path of the "dirty burn" is keeping the evacuations and road closures in place.

"We have a bunch of safety issues in the fire area itself," he said.  "Most of them are along Highway 243 and then in some of the residential areas up in the Twin Pines and Silent Valley area."

"We're seeing trees that are down in the road, power lines that are down," he said.  "Because the fire when it went through was a very dirty burn, and what that means is not all the fuels burned when the fire went through the area in a lot of the burn area so we are seeing a lot of hot spots where we're having flare ups."



Original story posted at 7:30 a.m. Aug. 9, 2013:

Two days after a fast-growing wildfire broke out south of Banning, fire crews continued to work to mitigate its damage as it spreads east and ordered more evacuations.

As of Friday morning, the Silver Fire was estimated at 16,000 acres in size, and was 25 percent contained, according to the latest incident report provided by the Riverside County Fire Department.

"Overnight, the fire continued to burn actively, fanned by gusty winds out of the west; the fire moved east into the Snow Creek drainage," the report states.  "A damage inspection team will continue working to determine the exact number and type of structures damaged or destroyed by the fire."

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, Cal Fire reported.  Two other buildings are listed by Cal Fire as "damaged."  539 structures remain threatened.

Six people have been injured in the fire, five of them firefighters.  One man suffered severe burns within the first hour of the fire, Patch has confirmed.

The fire was first reported at 2:05 p.m. Aug. 7 near Wolfskill Truck Trail and Mt. Edna Road, in the mountains northwest of Poppett Flats and south of Banning.  

The fire spread at a rapid rate, burning through an estimated 5,000 acres within the first four hours.

“In the first hour, we estimate that this fire burned an excess of 3,000 acres,”  Night operations Fire Chief Tony Mecham said Thursday.

More than 1,600 firefighters are assigned to the incident Friday.

Highway 243 remains closed to the public between Banning and Poppet Flats.  Evacuation orders also remain in effect for all previously affected communities, as well as some additional campgrounds.

Evacuations are now mandatory in:   Marion Mountain Campground, Fern Basin Campground, Dark Canyon Campground as well as the Marion Mountain and Seven Pines hiking trails.

Previously ordered evacuations included: Vista Grande, Mt. Edna, Poppet Flats, Silent Valley, Twin Pines, Snow Creek, Twin Pines, Twin Pines Ranch, Black Mountain and Portions of Cabazon (Peach Street, Plum Street, Eucalyptus Street, and Riza Avenue, Ida Avenue, Helen Avenue East to Elm Street).

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