201909.06
0

Mandatory evacuations lifted as containment on Tenaja fire in Murrieta doubles to 20%

by in News

Firefighters made progress on the Tenaja fire overnight, as containment on the Murrieta-area blaze doubled to 20% and all mandatory evacuations were lifted and became evacuation warnings.

The fire did not grow overnight and remained at 2,000 acres Friday morning, Sept. 6.

“We know people want to go home, and we’re more confident than we were,”said Cal Fire Capt. Fernando Herrera. “They need to know that they could have to leave immediately. We won’t be 100% confident until we have that line 100% contained.”

Most roads have also been opened, Herrera said.

Herrera said firefighters are continuing to work the perimeter in anticipation of a repeat of yesterday’s weather, when the wind shifts direction in the afternoon.

  • Spot fires are doused near the 23500 block of Silverwood Street as the Tenaja fire continues to burn in the La Cresta area near Murrieta on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019.. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

  • Firefighters put out hot spots directly behind homes on Mountainside Ct. in Murrieta Thursday Sep 5, 2019 after the Tenaja Fire flared up Thursday afternoon. The blaze has burned over 1,900 acres after starting Wednesday. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

  • Sound
    The gallery will resume inseconds

  • John Tanacio, Orange County firefighter, is dog’s best friend when catching this canine wandering Murrieta’s Calle Del Oso Oro at Vineyard Pkwy. The Tenaja fire evacuation is not lifted yet on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

  • San Manuel firefighters and San Luis Obispo CalFire team up to defend against the Tenaja fire in Murrieta behind neighborhood near the 23500 block of Silverwood Street. The Tenaja fire is still active in Murrieta on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

  • Smoke and flames reappear after a lull. All is quiet on the Silverwood and Hazelwood Streets below with the exception of a police car, fire engine or helicopter in Murrieta on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019. Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

  • A stubborn spot fire reignites before a water drop extinguishes it momentarily. The Tenaja fire is still active in Murrieta on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019. Photographed near the 23500 block of Silverwood Street. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

  • Smoke and flames reappear after a lull. All is quiet on the Silverwood and Hazelwood Streets below with the exception of a police car, fire engine or helicopter in Murrieta on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019. Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

  • An English Pointer get separated from his owner during Tenaja fire in Murrieta on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019. He was found by Orange County firefighters, but escaped their truck. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

  • Jennifer Metoyer, Murrieta traffic investigator, shares her cheese and peanut butter lunch with a lost mutt found roaming near Calle Del Oso Oro and Vineyard Pkwy. Animal authorities were in route to pick up the canine during the Tenaja fire on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

  • BrommieÕs only crime is that he wandered from his owner on their morning walk. The English Pointer was picked up by Orange County firefighters who handed him off to police. Animal authorities were in route to pick up, but his owner found Brommie in time during the Tenaja fire in Murrieta on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

  • Owner Bruce Kidd of Murrieta reunites with his English Pointer, Brommie, before animal authorities arrive to pick up the dog in Murrieta on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019. The Tenaja fire kicked up in late afternoon due to winds. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

  • Alternate fire retardant and water drops contain a fiery ridge during the Tenaja fire in Murrieta on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

  • Smoke and flames reappear after a lull. All is quiet on the Silverwood and Hazelwood Streets below with the exception of a police car, fire engine or helicopter in Murrieta on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019. Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

  • Reneé Harshman, 55, of Murrieta, walks her dog Spike along Vineyard Parkway in Murrieta on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019. She said neighbors watched the Tenaja fire burn along the hills south of her neighborhood Wednesday night on the same street. “It was very scary,” she said. (Photo by Richard K. De Atley, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

  • A Murrieta Fire Department engine pulls down Sherry Lane as the Tenaja Fire burns in and above Cole Canyon in the Murrieta area Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2019. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

  • Kimberly Maag (right) receives a hug from her mother Lisa Hampson as Maag evacuates her home on Single Oak Way as the Tenaja Fire burns down a ridge towards homes in Murrieta Wednesday night Sept. 4, 2019. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

  • Residents watch as the Tenaja Fire burns behind homes near the corner of Silverwood and Cooperwood Streets in Murrieta Wednesday night Sept. 4, 2019. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

  • Residents and onlookers watch as the Tenaja Fire burns in and above Cole Canyon at the top of Vineyard Parkway in Murrieta Wednesday evening Sept. 4, 2019. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

  • Residents on Sherry Lane watch as the Tenaja Fire burns in and above Cole Canyon behind their homes on Sherry Lane in Murrieta Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2019. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

  • Flames burn a brushy area west of the I-15 freeway in Murrieta near the community of La Cresta Wednesday September 4, 2019. (Photo by Andrew Foulk, Contributing Photographer))

  • Flames glow as a fire burns near the community of La Cresta in Murrieta Wednesday September 4, 2019. (Photo by Andrew Foulk, Contributing Photographer)

  • Flames burn a brush area west of the I-15 freeway in Murrieta near the community of La Cresta Wednesday September 4, 2019. (Photo by Andrew Foulk, Contributing Photographer)

  • Smoke from a brush fire burning in the La Cresta area near Murrieta fills the sky on Wednesday afternoon Sept. 4, 2019. (Photo by Andrew Foulk, Contributing Photographer)

  • Firefighters put out hot spots directly behind homes on Mountainside Ct. in Murrieta Thursday Sep 5, 2019 after the Tenaja Fire flared up Thursday afternoon. The blaze has burned over 1,900 acres after starting Wednesday. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

  • Firefighters put out hot spots directly behind homes on Mountainside Court in Murrieta Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

  • Firefighters put out hot spots directly behind homes on Mountainside Ct. in Murrieta Thursday Sep 5, 2019 after the Tenaja Fire flared up Thursday afternoon. The blaze has burned over 1,900 acres after starting Wednesday. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

of

Expand

“The test will be when the winds flare up,” Herrera said. “We’d like to hold without significant increases (in the burn area) or flare ups.”

“Evacuation warnings can be changed back to an evacuation order at any time depending on fire containment throughout the day,” Murrieta Police Department officials said Friday morning on Twitter. “Please monitor updates and be ready to evacuate again if needed.”

Midday gusts fanned the flames Friday and forced new evacuations on Thursday.

So far, the Tenaja has only caused minor damage to two structures.

But the fire has led to school districts in southwest Riverside County deciding against holding school on Friday, including the Murrieta Valley, Lake Elsinore, Romoland, Perris Elementary, Perris Union High and Menifee districts.

Further, the fire, first reported at 3:56 p.m. Wednesday, had about 570 homes under evacuation orders Thursday, with residents in at least 141 of those homes opting to stay put, Cal Fire Division Chief Todd Hopkins said at a Thursday evening news conference.

(To see Riverside County’s evacuation map for the fire, go here.)

The areas originally ordered to evacuate in Murrieta, include Montanya Place, Bonita Place, Belcara Place, Lone Oak Way, Copper Canyon, south of Calle del Oso Oro between Clinton Keith Road and Murrieta Creek Drive.

Also, homes on The Trails Circle in La Cresta. The Santa Rosa Plateau Visitor Center at 39400 Clinton Keith Road; the visitor center is part of the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve in the Riverside County regional park system.

This is a developing story. Please check back later for updates.