Rabbit Fire: Highway 79 Partially Reopening, Evacuations Latest

BEAUMONT, CA — After a day of "minimal activity" on the Rabbit Fire burning near Beaumont and Moreno Valley, fire officials announced Sunday night that some roads would be reopening, but evacuation orders and warnings remained in place.

As of 7 p.m. Sunday, the largest of four brush fires burning in Riverside County this weekend had consumed 7,600 acres in the Lakeview area as firefighters increased containment to 25%, according to Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department officials.

"The Rabbit Fire had minimal activity throughout the day, with smoldering in heavy fuels," the agency said in an incident report late Sunday. "Fire crews worked [on Sunday] to build containment lines and will continue through the night."

No structures have been destroyed, but 152 are threatened, according to the agency.

Evacuations Latest

Some evacuation orders were downgraded to warnings earlier Sunday for the area south of East First Street, east of Highway 79 (Lamb Canyon), north of Seneca Springs and west of Manzanita Park Road.

An evacuation order remained in place for an area south of Seneca Springs, East of Jack Rabbit Trail, North of Gilman Springs, North of Potrero Reserve, West of Manzanita Park, as well as Highway 79.

An evacuation center for people and small animals was set in place at Beaumont High School at 39139 Cherry Valley Blvd. Large animals were being accepted at the San Jacinto Animal Shelter, 581 South Grand Ave.

Road Closures Latest

The fire department said Highway 79 would reopen on the northbound side only, between Gilman Springs Road and Beaumont Avenue in Lamb Canyon, at 4 a.m. Monday. The southbound side of Highway 79 will remain closed between County Landfill Road and Bridge Street.

Also slated to reopen at 4 a.m. Monday was Gilman Springs Road, between Alessandro Boulevard and Highway 79.

Firefighting Efforts

A total of 176 fire engines, 20 water tenders, 25 hand crews and numerous air tankers were utilized to suppress the spread of the fire.

"Our goal is to strengthen and improve our containment lines and get around the body of the fire, most notably up in the head of the fire where we have several housing communities," Incident Commander and Division Chief Josh Janssen said Sunday.

Looking into the coming week, crews will face extreme heat and low humidity.

"High temperatures, steep terrain and difficult access continue to hamper fire suppression efforts," Sunday's incident report stated. "Hazards remain present for critical infrastructure, radio repeaters towers and natural gas and petroleum pipelines."

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

— City News Service contributed to this report.