Southern California wildfire mostly contained
A smoky wildfire in southern California that broke out a day earlier and prompted evacuation orders was mostly under control, fire officials said.
Encompassing roughly 16 square kilometres in Riverside County, about 103 kilometres east of Los Angeles, the Springs Fire was no longer growing and at least 75 percent contained Saturday, said Terra Fernandez, public safety information specialist for the Riverside County Fire Department.
It was 25 per cent contained on Friday.
Fire officials also lifted evacuation orders for a large swath of neighbourhoods Saturday morning. Fernandez said she expected the rest will be lifted by the end of the day.
“It’s pretty much under control,” Fernandez said.
The fire was fuelled by strong Santa Ana winds with gusts predicted to get up to 72 kph on Saturday. But winds had “dissipated a bit” since Friday, helping the efforts of fire crews, Fernandez said.
