The Nixon Fire Burns Over 2700 Acres & Several Structures
INCIDENT DATE/TIME: 7-29-24, 12:35 PM
LOCATION: TULE RD AND RICHARD NIXON BLVD
AREA/CITY: AGUANGA
DETAILS:
- AGUANGA – A wind-driven brush fire that erupted Monday south of Highway 371 in Aguanga scorched more than 1,000 acres and damaged structures, progressing at a rapid rate toward mountains along the boundary separating Riverside and San Diego counties.
- The non-injury “Nixon Fire” was reported at 12:28 p.m. in the area of Richard Nixon Boulevard and Tule Peak Road, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.
- The agency said numerous engine and hand crews — numbering over 200 personnel — from the county, Cal Fire-San Diego County and other agencies were sent to the location and encountered flames burning at a “dangerous rate” to the southeast through medium brush.
- Seven Cal Fire air tankers and four water-dropping helicopters initiated runs on the brusher just before 1 p.m., initially slowing its advance before it accelerated again, according to reports from the scene.
- There were reports from the scene of several structures damaged, but it was unclear whether those were only outbuildings, or included homes.
- Winds shifted due to the hilly terrain, complicating firefighting efforts. Ground crews were spread out, trying to establish structure protection lines. Properties in the remote location are spaced acres apart.
- Shortly after 4 p.m., the blaze spread into the 2,300-acre burn scar from the “Bonny Fire” that crews battled for over a week last July and August in Aguanga. With little fuel in the scar, the Nixon Fire lost momentum on one flank but continued to accelerate toward Iron Spring Mountain, lying on the boundary separating Riverside and San Diego counties.
- The wilderness area is under the supervision of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
- An evacuation order was implemented for the scattered homes south of Highway 371, north of the county line, west of Terwilliger Road and east of Foolish Pleasure Road.
- An evacuation center was established at Temecula Valley High School, 31555 Rancho Vista Road.
- Sheriff’s deputies closed multiple roads, most of them dirt and gravel, throughout the fire zone.
- There was no immediate word regarding how the blaze started.
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