Wind-driven fire burning south of Desert Dunes Golf Club near Desert Hot Springs
Firefighters continue to work Tuesday to contain a wind-driven fire near the Desert Dunes Golf Club that was threatening more than 20 structures the night before.
Firefighters responded to the fire burning off of 20th Avenue south of the golf club and Desert Hot Springs just after 6 p.m. Monday. The fire was burning both vegetation and piles of refuse.
The department revised the size of the fire from 4 acres initially down to around 1 acre. A battalion chief said in a video posted to Facebook that the fire was "threatening 20 to 30 structures" and involved multiple spots and debris piles, including some as much as 7 feet deep.
"Firefighters are having to get in there and spread that around and try to keep these embers from igniting more spot fires ahead of this," Riverside County Fire spokesman Rob Roseen said in the video, posted around 8 p.m. "It's gonna be a long night please firefighters are working hard out here."
Cal Fire said in a Twitter update on Tuesday morning that firefighters worked in windy conditions throughout the night to prevent the fire from spreading. There will be firefighters working to suppress the fire during the day and windy conditions continue, Cal Fire said.
The battalion chief said the fire started in an area where illegal dumping has occurred and that some of the dumped debris caught fire. There were 14 engines and around 50 firefighters, including firefighters from the Palm Springs and Cathedral City departments, at the scene.
The battalion chief said the high winds and heavy smoke meant that visibility was "near zero" which was creating additional challenges for the firefighters.
Vegetation/ Refuse Fire in North Palm Springs RPT @ 6:03 PM - 66900 Blk 20th Ave. Firefighters are on scene of a wind-driven fire, apprx 4 acres of refuse piles and vegetation, some areas 6-7 ft deep. @PalmSpringsFire Cathedral City FD asstg. #20thFIRE pic.twitter.com/ZMOID8ULLf
— CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department (@CALFIRERRU) June 14, 2022
On Monday afternoon, firefighters also responded to a fire that had been refuse and some palm trees near the intersection of Dillon Road and Avenue 44 in the eastern Coachella Valley.
#20thFIRE - firefighters work to contain this wind-driven fire. Video credit: @CALFIRERRU pic.twitter.com/YxI0JEvAn3
— CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department (@CALFIRERRU) June 14, 2022
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Paul Albani-Burgio covers breaking news and the City of Palm Springs. Follow him on Twitter at @albaniburgiop and via email at paul.albani-burgio@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Wind-driven fire burning south of Desert Dunes Golf Club
