A fast-moving brush fire broke out in the Cherry Valley area of Riverside County on Friday (July 31) evening at around 5 pm, triggering mandatory evacuations.
The blaze, dubbed the Apple Fire, has grown to at least 1,720 acres Friday night near Oak Glen Road and Apple Tree Lane, authorities confirmed.
As many as 150 homes have been evacuated till now and containment remains at 0 per cent.
Four helicopters, seven air tanks, and 375 firefighters are fighting the blaze, the county's fire department said, adding that so far no home was damaged and no injuries were reported.
The Beaumont Police Department took to social media saying, "The Beaumont Police Department is closely monitoring the Apple Fire. There are NO evacuation orders for areas within the City of Beaumont at this time. All current evacuation orders pertain to Cherry Valley and Banning Bench Residents ONLY."
Riverside County Sheriff's Dept issued mandatory evacuations
Massive flames and smoke were seen coming to some homes nearby in the area, which prompted the Riverside County Sheriff's Department to issue mandatory evacuations for 200 residences.
Taking to Twitter, the Riverside County Fire Department, which is the official source of information for this fire, said, "Evacuation ORDERS have extended to north of Cherry Valley Blvd./west of Highland SpringsAve./East of Beaumont Ave. in Cherry Valley. An evacuation center has been established at Beaumont High School."
"The two fires are approximately 350 acres in total and 0% contained. Evacuation ORDERS are in place for residents S/Of County Line Rd, N/of Dutton St and E/of Oak Glen Rd. - Evac Center at Beaumont HS 39139 Cherry Valley Blvd in Beaumont," read the CAL FIRE tweet.
Netizens share scary visuals
Live #AppleFire - 5 van 564FIREPhoto #Fire https://t.co/tOT3B0xd64
— Richard Grune (@0406Guno) August 1, 2020
"We have been evacuated from our home. @margeritedevans and myself are now safely in Murrieta away from the #AppleFire. Thank you for all the love!" tweeted another user.
Another individual took to Twitter saying,"America is literally on fire and I haven't seen trump send in feds yet to control that #AppleFire #TrumpIsUnwell"
More visuals surface from area
