Liberty fire burns 300 acres, 100% contained

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(FOX 11/CNS) - Fire crews battled a 300 acre rapidly moving brush fire in the Murrieta area Thursday afternoon, forcing schools to close and residents to evacuate.

Officials say it is now 100 percent contained and all evacuation orders have been lifted.

Dubbed the 'Liberty fire', the blaze was first reported around 1:15 p.m. near the intersection of Los Alamos and Liberty roads in an unincorporated area of Riverside County, according to CalFire.

Residents were ordered to evacuate in the following areas: Los Alamos Road, Liberty Road, Mary Place, Via Mira Mosa, Madelda Lane, Skipper Road, Ernest Way, Mesa Avenue.

More than 300 firefighters were working to encircle the wind-whipped wildfire, which by 8 p.m. was 10 percent contained.

By 8 p.m., evacuation orders were lifted for all residents with the exception of residents bordering Los Alamos Road between Ruth Ellen Way and Briggs Road, Maclean and Golden Eagle avenues.

Southern California Edison was working to restore power to approximately 50 customers, with an estimated restoration time of 6 a.m. Friday.

Several schools closed early due to the fire, including Monte Vista Elementary, Rail Ranch Elementary, Lisa J. Mails Elementary, Dorothy McElhinney Middle School and Vista Murrieta High School, police said.

Map of the affected areas:

Video of the fire in Murrieta fire from a resident

Evacuation centers set up at:
Mesa High School, 24801 Monroe St. The county Department of Animal Services was accepting evacuated pets at its San Jacinto Valley Animal Campus, 581 S. Grand Ave.

It's unknown on how the fire started.