Fairview Fire 45% contained after rainy weekend, full containment expected Monday
The Fairview Fire, which has been burning near Hemet for almost a week, is 45% contained as of Sunday morning after weather conditions helped firefighters tackle the blaze over the weekend.
With the help of rain and moisture from Tropical Storm Kay, the fire was 40% contained early Saturday after being stalled at 5% most of the week. It is expected to be fully contained on Monday, according to CalFire.
"Yesterday was a very successful day due to the weather," said Mike Page, a day operations branch chief for the Fairview Fire. "Crews were able to access parts of the fire that were previously inaccessible due to fire behavior and difficulty in getting into those areas."
But the fire still has a lot of potential to move around, Page added.
"There is still potential for areas within the fire perimeter that continues to retain heat to be able to become active again and potentially threaten the communities in the immediate area around the fire," he said.
The fire has burned through 28,307 acres so far — destroying 17 structures and damaging four. There are 2,462 structures still in danger.
The fire caused two civilian deaths and one injury, according to CalFire's incident update on Sunday. No first responders have died or been injured.
A privately-owned helicopter that was helping with the fire crashed on Saturday afternoon, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The pilot was trying to land at the Banning Airport when it crashed into a backyard nearby. Three people, including the pilot, received moderate injuries and were transported to a trauma center.
Stephen Volmer, a fire behavior analyst at CalFire, said moisture from the storm resulted in a decrease in overall fire activity. But firefighters are still finding creeping and smoldering fire in the area of Bautista Canyon and Avery Canyon, he said.
"The brush out there is super dense, very thick and old," Volmer said. "So a lot of the moisture has not reached down to the ground in the surface fuels to moisten that up, so that's where we're still getting the fire activity."
He said firefighters on Sunday are going to find and extinguish smoke or creeping fire. There hasn't been a fire in the area since 1924 and 1928, Volmer added.
The National Weather Service issued a flood watch from noon to 10 p.m. for parts of Southwest California, including Riverside County. A NWS alert said showers and thunderstorms are expected in the mountains, High Desert and Inland Empire Sunday afternoon and evening.
The agency had also previously issued flood watches from Friday morning through Saturday night.
Matt Mehle, an incident meteorologist for CalFire, said a concern for firefighters is more sunshine on Sunday that will cause hotter and dryer conditions. Combined with tropical moisture, he said daytime heating could result in afternoon thunderstorms.
"Any thunderstorms that develop have the possibility of producing gusty winds, dangerous cloud to ground lightening, and brief heavy rain," he said.
Mehle added that the threat for thunderstorms will end and winds will decrease by Sunday night.
As of Sunday evening, the following areas are under evacuation orders:
South of Cactus Valley Road
East of Sage Road
North of Stanley Road to the eastern border of the Cahuilla Mountain Wilderness
North of the southern border of the Cahuilla Mountain Wilderness
North of Tripps Flats
Northwest of Cottonwood Truck Trail and west of Rouse Ridge to the fire's burn area
Small parts of Fairview Avenue, by Citrus View Drive and Bautista Road
In addition to the fire, Page said there are also threats to safety caused by fire damage to infrastructure such as powerlines and roads. He said CalFire wants to ensure the area is safe before communities are repopulated.
Ani Gasparyan covers the western Coachella Valley cities of Desert Hot Springs and Cathedral City. Reach her at ani.gasparyan@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Fairview Fire 45% contained after rainy weekend
