BANNING – (INT) – Riverside County firefighters are making headway against the Mias Fire.

The fire has covered 545 acres. The burn area has been nearly encircled at last report.

Nature got the blame for the cause of the fire. Calfire investigators determined that a tree branch weakened by a heavy beehive fell into some powerlines sparking the fire.

The fire erupted just as the last of a 1,044 acre blaze was being squelched in Pigeon Pass on the outskirts of Moreno Valley.

That fire broke out Sunday afternoon behind a home at the base of the Box Springs Mountains. The point of origin was placed near the end of Blaine Street, just inside the city limits of Riverside.

Pushed by 20 mile an hour winds, the Blaine Fire quickly spread up the mountainside into the Box Springs Regional Park covering 850-acres in less than 2-hours. As of Tuesday, the burn area had been mapped at 1,044 acres.

After peaking on the rock-studded mountains, the flames moved into Pigeon Pass on the outskirts of Moreno Valley where another fire flared in May.

More than 300 firefighters responded with a dozen water-dropping helicopters and air tankers. Pink fire retardants coated the backyards and rooftops of several ranch-style homes. Calfire said Monday that the attic of one home had been damaged. Evacuations were lifted at 9pm Sunday.

The fire was contained Tuesday.

Wild donkeys that populate the hills and open fields were seen running for safety.

Earlier Sunday, another fire covered about 26 acres in the hills east of Nuevo. One-hundred-fifty firefighters pounced on that blaze.

Story Date: August 20, 2017