Here's What We Know About The Cranston Fire Burning Near Idyllwild

The fast-moving Cranston Fire in San Bernardino National Forest appears to have been caused by arson, according to fire officials. The blaze has led to widespread evacuation orders to all of Idyllwild, Pine Cove and Fern Valley. The fire was started about noon Wednesday and quickly grew to more thousands of acres by nightfall. Here's what we know as of 6:30 a.m. Friday.

Brandon McGlover booking photo. (Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department)

()

• 11,500 acres have burned
• The fire is 3% contained, down from 5% in earlier reports
• Nearly 1,400 firefighters are battling the blaze
• Roughly 6,000 people have been evacuated
• An estimated 4,830 homes are threatened
• At least 5 buildings have burned
• No fatalities have been reported, but two firefighters have been injured
• Evacuation areas include Idyllwild, the Apple Canyon area, Cedar Glen, Camp Scherman Girlscout Camp, Fern Valley, Hurkey Creek area, Lake Hemet area, Mountain Center Community, Mt. San Jacinto State Park and Pine Cove
• Cal Fire officials late Wednesday confirmed the arrest of Brandon N. McGlover, 32, of Temecula, for allegedly setting multiple fires, including the one that became the Cranston Fire
• The South Coast Air Quality Management District has issued a smoke advisory for the wildfire through Friday morning

WHERE TO GET UPDATES

• San Bernardino National Forest Twitter account
• Riverside County Emergency Management active events page
• RivCoReady Twitter account
• Idyllwild Emergency Twitter account
• www.idyllwildemergency.com
• Official incident page on Inciweb
• Cal Fire Riverside Twitter account

ROAD CLOSURES AND OTHER EVACUATIONS

Highway 74 was closed from City of Hemet to Lake Hemet, and Highway 243 was closed between Banning and the intersection of Highways 243 and 74.

Campgrounds in Idyllwild were also under evacuation orders, including Idyllwild Arts, Camp Maranatha, Idyllwild Pines, AstroCamp, Camp Emerson and Tahquitz Pines, according to the volunteer organization Mountain Disaster Preparedness, which runs the website idyllwildemergency.com.

The Riverside Sheriff's station was also conducting evacuations of Idyllwild, Apple Canyon area, Lake Hemet area, Mountain Center, Hurkey Creek and the Camp Scherman Girl Scouts camp. More than 3 dozen hiking trails and recreation areas in Mt. San Jacinto State Park and the San Bernardino National Forest are also closed.

Forest officials added the northside of Garner Valley to the list of areas under mandatory evacuation orders, including all homes accessed from roads north of Hialeah Way and all homes south of Hialeah, including any accessed from Hialeah, just south of Highway 371.

EVACUATION CENTERS

An evacuation center was set up at Banning High School for residents and small animals and to help reunify campers. An animal shelter for large and small animals was also set up at San Jacinto Valley Animal Campus, according to Riverside County Animal Services. Animals large and small can also be dropped off at Dysart Equestrian Park, where Animal Services will transport them to the San Jacinto Valley Animal Campus.

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Do we know why the fires were set?

Not yet. All that we know is that a man was arrested for allegedly setting multiple fires in the area.

If you have a question about the fire, ask it below.