Overview
The Fairview Fire started on the afternoon of Sept. 5 at Fairview Ave and Bautista Canyon Road, southeast of Hemet, and quickly grew to more than 20,000 acres.
Nearly three weeks after the Fairview Fire broke out near Hemet, investigators are still working to determine the cause of the blaze that burned 28,307 acres, destroyed 36 structures, killed two people and injured three others, including two firefighters.
“The cause of the fire is still under investigation,” Rob Roseen, a spokesperson for Cal Fire said. “They look at several variables, and there’s not necessarily a timeline on that investigation.”
According to authorities, the fire started on the afternoon of Sept. 5 at Fairview Ave and Bautista Canyon Road, southeast of Hemet, and quickly grew to more than 20,000 acres.
“We had the topography, the wind, and just the fuel, the dried fuel — those things all aligned created very rapid fire growth with the dry vegetation,” Roseen said. “That combined with erratic winds pushed this fire in all directions and created a very rapid expansion of the fire on all fronts.”
Fire crews were bracing for the threat of more extreme winds as Tropical Storm Kay approached the region, but said the potential danger was offset by heavy rains.
“There were winds predicted of up to 60 to 70 miles an hour out of the west, pushing on the western edge of the fire,” Roseen said. “Thankfully, though, the rains did come and subsided a lot of the fire activity, and firefighters were able to take advantage of that and get some containment lines built.”
And while fire crews are closing in on total containment and Cal Fire has handed off management of the area to local fire departments, those most impacted by the blaze are just beginning the recovery process.
A GoFundMe page that has already raised more than $40,000 has been set up on behalf of Tina Compton, whose daughter and husband were killed in the fire as they tried to escape the blaze.
“Tina is currently in the burn unit with [third-degree] burns and will be there for some time,” Kimberly Valdez, who organized the fundraiser, said. “She has a lot of healing and rebuilding ahead of her. I am creating this GoFundMe in hopes [of] raising money for funeral expenses, medical expenses, and anything Tina may need during this tragic time.”
Compton’s home and other belongings were also destroyed, and her pets were also killed in the fire, according to Valdez.
The Inland Empire Community Foundation is also raising money through its Inland Empire Disaster Relief Fund for those impacted by the Fairview Fire.
“So typically when these unfortunate situations happen, we ask the community to come together to make donations so that we are able to grant it out to nonprofits that are directly supporting residents affected by, you know, a fire in this case,” Charee Gillins, marketing and communications director, said.
Gillins said grants are typically made to organizations like the American Red Cross, which provides shelter for people evacuated from their homes and extended services for those whose homes were damaged or destroyed.
For those whose homes were damaged or destroyed by the fire, the Riverside County Emergency Management Department operates a recovery call center that can be reached Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 951-358-5134.
CalFresh recipients whose food was destroyed by the fire have until Oct. 5 to request benefit replacement by calling 1-877-410-8827 or by visiting the organization’s benefit replacement page. A full list of resources available to those impacted by the fire can be found here.
“We’re living in a world now where fire season is year round,” Roseen said. “Folks need to be prepared and their properties need to be prepared for the threat of wildfire.”
Roseen also urged people who live or work in Riverside County to sign up for Alert RivCo, a notification system used by emergency managers and public safety first responders to quickly notify community members during emergency situations such as earthquakes, floods and wildfires.
