LOS ANGELES — Kathy Petersen has lived in Hemet for 13 years and had known of fires in the area but had never been close to one until Monday.
Petersen, 54, got an alert on her phone that warned about the Fairview fire and looked out her window, seeing smoke everywhere.
“I didn’t think I was gonna have to evacuate,” she said, “but as it got closer, I knew.”
Petersen didn’t have a car, but a neighbor came and got her, and they drove to Tahquitz High School in Hemet, where an evacuation center had been set up.
The fire, which has killed two people and injured another, has exploded in size over the last day, growing more than 15,000 acres in 24 hours after it was established in the canyons and lined up with the winds and terrain, according to Jon Heggie, a spokesperson for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. He estimated the growth to be 23 square miles, or roughly half the size of San Francisco.
The fire stood at 18,657 acres Thursday morning and remained at 5% containment as it continued to burn past fire lines and forced officials to expand evacuation orders since it ignited Monday, according to Cal Fire. The blaze is expected to be contained by next week.
Heggie called the growth “pretty substantial” but not rare. “I’d like to say it’s uncommon, but it’s fairly common nowadays,” he said.
What’s rare is that the blaze is raging as a storm system is traveling off the coast of Southern California, Heggie said. The region is expected to see the effects on Friday, with winds forecast at about 75 miles per hour from the east. Precipitation from the storm could potentially help alleviate fire conditions but also poses a risk for mudslides and flooding.
“This is an unusual circumstance to have the outflow winds to be pushing from the east, which will be problematic,” he said. “We have enough resources and we’re planning for this weather event, but it could challenge our control lines. We can’t rely on the rains, but it could potentially assist us.”
Eastern winds have pushed the fire to the west, where it continued to spread even after winds had subsided, according to Cal Fire. At least 2,500 structures were threatened and at least seven have been destroyed.
Riverside County sheriff’s Sgt. Brandi Swan said about 3,700 homes were previously affected by the evacuation orders, but she didn’t know the total since the more recent ones were issued.
The two people killed in the fire have been identified by KCBS-TV Channel 2 as Ian Compton, 40, and his 27-year-old daughter, Mikayla Porter, who had autism. Their family pets were also killed in the fire as they tried to flee from their home, but the blaze surrounded their car, according to the TV station.
Tina Compton, Ian’s wife, was found severely burned outside of the car, was taken to a hospital and is expected to survive, the TV station reported. Swan confirmed two people were found dead inside a car in the 42400 block of Avery Canyon Road in eastern Hemet, but couldn’t confirm their identities due to the condition of their remains.
A GoFundMe page has been set up for Tina Compton by her friend, Kimberly Valadez, for funeral and medical expenses. Compton also lost her home and belongings in the fire.
“Tina is the most selfless, loving, giving, kind hearted person,” Valadez wrote. “Tina is currently in the burn unit with 3rd degree burns and will be there for some time. She has a lot of healing and rebuilding ahead of her.”
The deadly blaze has also threatened Diamond Valley Lodge, a tiger sanctuary on Sage Road in Hemet. An employee posted on social media that the fire is heading toward Diamond Valley Lodge and put out a request for volunteers to help rake and make barriers near the sanctuary. The message mentioned that the sanctuary’s four tigers were too “spooked” to be transported.
“We are in need of manpower to help rake and make barriers,” the post read. “If you can come, please do. Bring any tools you think could help.”
Petersen, who had been in the evacuation center for two days, said she heard from deputies that her apartment was safe, but she was concerned about the food in her fridge going bad.
Officials have urged nearby residents to be prepared to evacuate at a moment’s notice.
“The fast-moving fires, as we’ve seen this year, have moved with an unprecedented rate of speed,” Heggie said. “Even yesterday, we had 10,000 acres burning in a period of five hours. The fire has tremendous potential to negatively impact communities.”
