Crime & Safety
Snow Fire Near Palm Springs Reaches 6,013 Acres, 20% Containment
Hundreds of homes remained threatened Saturday.
PALM SPRINGS, CA —A brush fire sparked by a vehicle fire northwest of Palm Springs burned 6,013 acres and was threatening at least 400 homes, but did not grow overnight, officials said Sunday.
The "Snow Fire" was reported at about 2:40 p.m. Thursday in the 15000 block of Snow Creek Road, according to the Riverside County Fire Department. It was 20 percent contained as of Saturday evening, according to Cal Fire Riverside.
Flames threatened homes in the Snow Creek and Windy Point communities, Cal Fire Capt. Fernando Herrera told City News Service. Herrera said wind speeds between 20 and 30 mph were threatening to push the flames northeast toward the Windy Point community.
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No injuries or structure losses have been reported so far.
#SnowFire is 4,500 acres, 8% contained#ElDoradoFire 22,071 acres, 59% contained@SoCal_RedCross: Temporary Evacuation Points are currently open:
El Dorado Fire: Redlands East Valley High School
Snow Fire: James A. Venable Community Center
image: webcam Banning › South-East pic.twitter.com/PZOUzcaDWR
— KarinKB (@KarinKB) September 19, 2020
Evacuation orders for the Snow Creek area, north of Cottonwood Road, southeast of Snowcreek Road and west of Falls Creek were lifted Saturday night, Cal Fire reported.
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Non-mandatory evacuation warnings were issued for homes south of Overture Drive, north of Overture Drive, east of Clearwater Way and west of Highway 111.
A temporary evacuation point was established at the James A. Venable Community Center at 50390 Carmen Ave. in Cabazon, where American Red Cross personnel were on hand providing snacks and water amid COVID-19 safety protocols, and arranging lodging at nearby hotels.
The coronavirus pandemic has forced the American Red Cross to forego setting up congregate shelters in recent months, opting instead to arrange for hotel stays for evacuees with nowhere to go.
The CHP reported that the blaze began after a work truck caught fire north of Snow Creek on Thursday afternoon, which spread to nearby vegetation. Flames have since spread into the San Bernardino National Forest and the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument, prompting a multi-agency response.
A total of 215 firefighters were assigned to the firefight from several agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. They were being assisted by four Cal Fire aircraft and two water- dropping helicopters.
The City News Service contributed to this report.
