Winchester Brush Fire Forces Road Closure

Murrieta CA

10 August, 2021

6:25 PM

Description

WINCHESTER, CA — A brush fire that erupted Tuesday on the north end of Winchester charred roughly an acre and forced a road closure before it was stopped. The non-injury blaze was reported at 2:10 p.m. in the area of Briggs and Matthews roads, near Heritage Lake, according to Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department. The agency said more than a half-dozen engine crews and a hand crew from the county and Murrieta Fire & Rescue were sent to the location, encountering flames moving at a moderate rate through grass and a stand of trees. Cal Fire aircraft were initially summoned to make runs on the brusher but were called off and sent back to Hemet-Ryan Airport a few minutes later. The fire's forward rate of spread was stopped at 2:40 p.m., and it was fully contained a half-hour later. No homes or other structures were threatened. Sheriff's deputies closed a segment of Matthews Road for public safety, but it was reopened shortly before 3 p.m. The cause of the fire was under investigation.