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Van Buren Fire burns 80 acres in Riverside County

A fire destroyed much of San Pedro's Elks Lodge during the early hours of Tuesday morning.
A fire destroyed much of San Pedro's Elks Lodge during the early hours of Tuesday morning.
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Matthew Venn/Flickr Creative Commons
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Firefighters in Riverside County are battling a wildfire in the area of Thermal, just south of Coachella, Cal Fire/Riverside County's Melody Hendrickson tells KPCC. The fire has burned between 80 and 85 acres so far and is 20 percent contained.

They're calling it the Van Buren Fire. It started around 2:30 p.m. at Avenue 62 and Van Buren Street.

RELATED: Long, hot winter puts Western fire officials on edge

Nearly 100 firefighters are on the scene, along with one bulldozer, 14 engines and one water tender helping them out.

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The California Highway Patrol has shut down Van Buren Street from Avenue 62 to Avenue 66, a CHP spokesperson tells KPCC.

This story has been updated.

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