Big Southern California wildfire being contained, with minimal new activity

MORENO VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — Firefighters working in high heat patrolled for hotspots and built control lines around a large wildfire smoldering in the interior of Southern California on Tuesday.

The Rabbit Fire remained at just under 13 square miles (33.6 square kilometers), with 45% containment after minimal activity overnight, according to the Riverside County unit of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The fire was the largest of four that erupted last week in Riverside County. The last of evacuation orders for nearby homes was downgraded to a warning on Tuesday and all other warnings were lifted.

The three smaller fires were all at significant levels of containment and all evacuation orders, warnings and road closures were lifted.

“Hot and dry, steep and rugged terrain are still going to be the challenges for the firefighters, but they continue to work aggressively on these fires to help the containment,” Rabbit Fire incident commander Josh Janssen said in a video briefing.

Much of inland Southern California, broiling along with Arizona and other states, will remain under excessive heat warnings into the weekend.

In the Sierra Nevada, a fire ignited by lightning late last month in Yosemite National Park was 20% contained after scorching slightly more than 1 square mile (3 square kilometers).