Smoke and fire retardant are visible from the 15 Freeway and Central Avenue. (Photo by Doug Spoon)
A brush fire in the hills northeast of Lake Elsinore burned nearly 200 acres by late Friday night, but firefighters were getting control of the blaze.
There was no smoke still visible by nightfall as fire officials proclaimed the Vista Fire 25 percent contained. The fire started as a vegetation fire in the 25000 block of El Torro Road, as reported on the Watch Duty app.
As the fire spread in late afternoon, air tankers were called in to make water and fire retardant drops and additional engine crews were called in. Evacuation orders were issued in the immediate area and structures were reportedly threatened.
By early evening, all evacuation orders were lifted and the air tankers were released. There were no reports of structure damage or injuries.
