The Silver Fire burning in Riverside County, Calif. since Wednesday afternoon continues to increase in intensity, burning through thousands more acres, causing additional evacuations, completely destroying homes and causing multiple injuries.
According to the most recent update from Cal Fire at 10:00 a.m. PST, the fire has grown to encompass 10,000 acres, forcing fire officials to issue more evacuation orders for residents in the area. The blaze, however, is 10 percent contained as of Thursday morning.
As of 7:00 a.m. PST Thursday, evacuations were in place for the communities of Poppet Flats, Silent Valley, Twin Pines, Twin Pines Ranch, Vista Grande, Mt. Edna and the extreme south end of Cabazon. In Cabazon, this includes Peach Street, Plum Street, Eucalyptus Street, Riza Street, Ida Avenue and Helen Avenue East to East Elm Street.
According to ABC News 7 Los Angeles, some 1,500 people have been forced from their homes and 15 structures have been completely destroyed by the fire, though it is unknown how many of these are houses.
With the Silver Fire burning uncontrollably in the foothills below Black Mountain, the area has been evacuated and closed as a precautionary measure. Boulder Basin and Black Mountain Campgrounds on Black Mountain road have been closed through Aug. 15.
Fire officials say they will continue to monitor the movement of the fire to determine if and when any additional evacuations should be made.
For residents forced from their homes under orders, two evacuation centers have been set up locally.
One center was set up at Hemet High School, located at 41701 East Stetson Avenue in Hemet and the other is at Beaumont High School, located at 39139 Cherry Valley Boulevard in Beaumont. An animal evacuation center has been set up at the San Jacinto valley Animal Campus, located at 581 South Grand Avenue in San Jacinto.
Three people have incurred injuries as a result of this fire so far, including two firefighters and one civilian.
The firefighters were taken by ambulance to nearby hospitals for treatment. The civilian, who was reportedly burned "from head to toe" was airlifted to a nearby burn center. No additional information on the nature or severity of these injuries has been released.
According to the Riverside County Fire Department, there are currently 1,000 fire personnel who have been deployed to fight the blaze. Their resources include 84 fire engines, 24 fire crews, six air tankers, 13 helicopters, eight dozers and four water tenders.
The Los Angeles Times reports that officials say that they are focusing their firefighting efforts on keeping the fire away from nearby dense forest areas, as they would offer more fuel to add to this already monstrous fire.
"Basically, our priority today is keeping [the fire] off San Bernadino National Forest," said Jeff Larusso of the Riverside Fire Department. "As of right now, we're not into the heavy dense fuels, we're not seeing the type of timber fuels that burn hotter."
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