We were up at our place in Lake Riverside (Aguanga) last weekend. My wife’s sister had a nice Epiphany get together in Murietta. And the 35 miles from Aguanga to Murietta is a lot better than the 85 miles from LA to Murietta. We also had the pleasure of having my in-laws with us.

We were preparing to leave on Sunday. It had been a very windy day, and as I was talking with my father-in-law I noted that there were clouds of dust passing overhead. I looked to the south and noticed another cloud. It took me a moment, but I realized that it was not dust, but smoke. We ran to the edge of the hill to the south and saw a fire that was probably only five minutes old.

The wind was blowing from the east. The fire had started at the edge of the Lakeshore Boulevard and was quickly moving west, about one half mile south of the house. The fire department drove up shortly after we looked down. The fire was racing with the wind, spreading rapidly and seemingly consuming everything in its path. My father-in-law noted that a dark cloud remained at what seemed to be the staring point of the fire. We then saw a flash and heard the bang of an explosion as a car burst into flames at the start of the fire.

The rest of the family joined us watching the fire. It seemed to calm down to white smoke for a few moments, then flash into a burst of black smoke as if found fresh fuel. We were not in danger. The fire had started down wind of us and was moving away. Scary, but not a danger.

We had watched long enough and got in the car and left the house. On our way out, we saw two California Department of Forestry planes come in. We saw them make several water drops on the fire. As we drove out to I-15 in Temecula, at least 10 fire trucks passed us as the headed to the fire. According to the stories below, 186 firefighters responded, and no homes were damaged. Great work firefighters!

I found two articles on the fire thanks to Google News. The first article was from the The Californian, an edition of the North County Times. We are only about 8 miles from the northern edge of San Diego County.

Brush fire burned 30 acres

By: The Californian –

AGUANGA —- A brush fire burned about 30 acres Sunday afternoon in a rural community near Aguanga, about 18 miles east of Temecula along Highway 371, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The department dispatched 22 engines and 186 firefighters to battle the blaze, which was reported at about 2:50 p.m. in a brushy area near Lakeshore Boulevard and Forest Springs Road in the residential hamlet of Lake Riverside, CDF officials said on the department’s Web site. Authorities believe the fire was started by a vehicle crashing into vegetation.

Firefighters prevented flames from damaging about 60 nearby residences in the sparsely populated area, officials said. The crews were still mopping up Sunday evening with plans to continue patrol operations throughout the night as north and northeasterly winds of up to 25 mph persisted, officials said.

Voluntary evacuations in the Lake Riverside area were lifted and no evacuations had been ordered and no injuries were reported, authorities said.

I like that our house is in a “hamlet.”

The second article was from the Riverside Press Enterprise.

Crews contain fire to 30 acres

12:12 AM PST on Monday, January 8, 2007

The Press-Enterprise

A brush fire blackened about 30 acres Sunday in the Anza area before the flames were surrounded by firefighters, authorities said.

The fire, believed to have been started by a spark from a vehicle that drove on dry vegetation, was reported about 2:50 p.m. near the 40000 block of Lakeshore Boulevard in the Lake Riverside area southwest of Anza, said Patrick Chandler spokesman for Riverside County Fire Department. He said 186 firefighters contained the blaze at 8 p.m. and prevented the flames from spreading to about 60 homes in the sparsely populated area.

He said a voluntary evacuation for the area has been lifted and firefighters plan to do mop up activities and patrol operations through the night. Winds of about 20 mph complicated firefighting efforts but did not hinder the crews from getting the blaze under control, he said.

–Herbert Atienza

hatienza@PE.com

Our lot and the lots to the East and South are well cleared, so I am not to worried about our house. But this was a stark reminder that fire can move fast in dry brush, with high winds, and with low humidity. Too close for comfort.