PINYON PINES (CNS) - A 40-acre brush fire broke out near Pinyon Pines today, as hundreds of fire personnel were busy battling a 4,700-acre forest fire just north of the latest blaze.
The fire was reported at 10:12 a.m. near state Route 74 and Ribbonwood Drive, according to Tawny Cabral of the Riverside County Fire Department, who said it was burning ``at a moderate rate of spread.”
No injuries or evacuations were immediately reported.
The fire, which was zero percent contained as of 12:30 p.m., is separate from the 4,700-acre Cranston Fire, which has kept local firefighters busy since it sparked around noon Wednesday in the forest between Hemet and Mountain Center. A Temecula man, Brandon N. McGlover, 32, was arrested shortly after it started on suspicion of five counts of arson to wildland.
Around 3,200 residents have been evacuated from Idyllwild, Mountain Center and other surrounding communities due to the suspected arson-caused fire, which has destroyed five homes and was 5 percent contained as of noon.
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