A 100-acre wildfire spread near Lake Elsinore in the area of Tenaja Truck Trail and El Cariso Village on Sunday afternoon, Aug. 25, prompting evacuations and road closures, temporarily including along Ortega Highway in Orange and Riverside counties.
Firefighters from the Cleveland National Forest were battling the Tenaja fire and by 6:31 p.m. its forward rate of spread had been stopped, with containment reported at 25%.
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The fire began around 12 p.m. at Tenaja Truck Trail, where it grew to to 44 acres. The blaze spread to 100 acres as of 1:45 p.m., and as of 4:15 p.m., it was measured at 99.5 acres and 25% contained, fire officials said.
Map: This is where the Tenaja fire near Lake Elsinore is burning
The Tenaja Truck Trail area was placed under mandatory evacuation, and El Cariso Village was put under an evacuation warning.
Ortega Highway was closed in both directions, Cleveland National Forest authorities announced on X at shortly before 2 p.m. A couple of hours later, it was re-opened to people with proof of residency but still closed to other traffic. By Sunday evening, Ortega Highway had reopened to all traffic, the CHP said at 6:12 p.m. Tenaja Truck Trail remained closed.
Evacuated areas include those south of Highway 74 and Tenaja Truck Trail and west of Highway 74, east of Verdugo Trail, and north of Cleveland Forest Road and Fox Spring Road, said Shane Reichardt, spokesperson for Riverside County Emergency Management.
Many other places received evacuation warnings.
An evacuation center was set up at Lakeside High School at 32593 Riverside Dr. in Lake Elsinore, where light refreshments were offered on Sunday afternoon, according to officials at RivCoReady, Riverside County’s Emergency Management Department.
The Emergency Management Department is working alongside the Red Cross.
If the fire burns overnight, the department will provide evacuated residents with beds and showers, as well as connections with other county resources, including mental health services, Reichardt said.
Small pets can be brought to the shelter at Lakeside High School. Large animals that have been evacuated can be taken to the San Jacinto Animal Shelter at 581 S. Grand Ave., San Jacinto.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.
Staff writers Andrea Klick and Micaela Ricaforte contributed to this story.
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