 TEMECULA – A brush fire that broke out today on the east end of Temecula burned 33 acres and threatened ranches before it was stopped.
The non-injury “Frogs Fire” was reported about 3:30 p.m. in the 44700 block of Frogs Leap Street, near Butterfield Stage Road, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.
The agency said multiple engine and hand crews from the county, as well as Murrieta Fire & Rescue, were sent to the location and encountered flames moving at a moderate rate through high grass amid northwest winds.
Ranch properties and vineyards were in the path of the brusher, but four Cal Fire air tankers and three water-dropping helicopters initiated a series of runs that slowed the fire sufficiently to enable crews to establish tentative containment lines.
The fire’s forward rate of spread was stopped at 6 p.m., and it was declared 20% contained.
An evacuation warning impacting scattered properties in the area was canceled, also at 6 p.m.
All air tankers and helicopters returned to their bases at Hemet-Ryan Airport and San Bernardino International Airport shortly before 6 p.m.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.
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