The Volcano Fire burned 125 acres near Murrieta on Tuesday and prompted evacuation orders across eight Riverside County zones as crews pushed into the hillsides west of town. Sheriff’s deputies also shut down Tenaja west of Via Volcano for public safety.
The fire was reported at 2:50 p.m. in the area of Via Volcano and Tenaja roads, and by 4:25 p.m. Cal Fire said it was still moving at a moderate rate through medium to heavy brush. The blaze forced orders for RVC-2244, RVC-2243, RVC-2197, RVC-2145, RVC-2146, RVC-2147, RVC-2245 and RVC-2198-B, while warning zones included RVC-2077, RVC-2076, RVC-2143-A, RVC-2292, RVC-2246, RVC-2198-A and RVC-2144.
The Riverside County Fire Department said multiple air and ground resources were sent to the scene, but the fire’s cause was still unknown. That gap matters because the blaze was already active, already spreading through brush, and already forcing residents out before anyone could say what started it.
For now, the clearest measure of the fire is simple: it was still burning, still expanding and still shaping movement in the area while crews worked to slow it down. The unanswered question is not whether the Volcano Fire was serious. It was how much farther it could go before firefighters pinned it down.
