According to the National Weather Service, a long-duration heat wave has settled over the Inland Empire and will last through next week. The NWS predicted Saturday was the hottest day, with highs 5 to 15 degrees above normal. Relative humidity has dropped to 10 to 15 percent, making the air tinder dry and inciting a Fire Weather watch, as the NWS forecasts extreme conditions for another week.

In the Inland Empire, the image of fireworks igniting beyond the smoke and glow of a brittle-dry field captured the difficulty firefighters face.

Just after 8:15 p.m. in San Bernardino, fireworks ignited a palm tree, sending it up in flames “like a Roman candle!” one commenter said of the captured on-camera scene.

“Fireworks start early around here,” Fire photographer @FirePhotoGirl wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “I can barely keep up.”

In Riverside County, blazes sparked from Cabazon to Coachella.

Just before 10 a.m., firefighters were dispatched to a burning single-wide mobile home in Cabazon. According to officials, the blaze was quelled just a half hour later, and the fire would be investigated.

Cal Fire said a fire burned 17 acres in Perris Thursday, igniting around noon, near the intersection of Goetz and Sotelo Roads. Air and ground resources battled the blaze, and no structures were damaged. The cause of the fire was not immediately known.

In Moreno Valley, a fire that began around 7 p.m. in a difficult-to-reach area near Nason Street and Dracaea Avenue bloomed from 7 to 60 acres overnight, a Cal Fire spokesperson said. The blaze reached full containment by 9 a.m. Friday morning.

In Coachella, a commercial building on Grapefruit Boulevard and 9th Street caught fire for unidentified reasons, a Cal Fire said. That building was well involved by 10:15 p.m., as firefighters arrived. Cal Fire managed to get that blaze under control in just over an hour, though they remained at the scene putting out hot spots.

Meanwhile, in places like Beaumont, the city opted for a different take on a citywide fireworks show, with a drone show instead. Hundreds gathered to see the view of colorful drones changing shapes and creating visuals filled with patriotic and civic pride.

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The blaze was reported at about 4:30 a.m. on San Timoteo Canyon Road in Redlands, east of Los Angeles. Firefighters needed about an hour to douse the flames and they discovered the marijuana operation, police said.

The blaze apparently started in a living section of an outbuilding that was gutted and a second outbuilding was damaged, police said.

Marijuana plants were found in the second building and thousands more were in a third building that wasn’t damaged, police said.

Police photos showed rows of plants in containers inside a building that appeared to have a sophisticated growing system.

Investigators seized the plants and 83 pounds of harvested product, all of which will be destroyed, police said.

A dog found at the site had minor burns and was turned over to animal control officers, police said.

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A bedtime cigarette sparked a fire at a Riverside home over the weekend, according to fire officials.

Firefighters were called out to a house fire in the 2000 block of Marlborough at about 6:54 a.m. Saturday, and found a single-story duplex with smoke showing from the back. When crews made their way inside the home, they found one person at the back door, trying to get out.

After rescuing that person and putting out the fire in the main bedroom, firefighters determined the fire started in a mattress and surrounding clothes and was most likely started by a cigarette. The woman who was rescued told firefighters she fell asleep while smoking in bed, according to Riverside Fire officials.

She was taken to a hospital for further treatment. A second person – who had tried to rescue the woman who had fallen asleep in the main bedroom where the fire started — was treated at the scene and released against medical advice, fire officials said.

The loss caused by the fire was estimated at $17,000.

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The blaze was reported at 1 p.m. less than a mile east of the intersection of Soboba Road and State Street, close to the Golden Era Golf Course in the community of Gilman Hot Springs, according to Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department.

Multiple engine and hand crews were sent to the location and encountered flames burning upslope at a moderate rate through medium vegetation. Three Cal Fire air tankers and a water-dropping helicopter were also summoned to make runs on the brusher, which was burning away from properties, according to reports from the scene.

Around 2 p.m., the forward rate of spread on the blaze had been stopped. It was expected to be completely knocked down by about 5 p.m., according to Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department.

A firefighter suffered unspecified minor injuries while on the fire lines and was taken to for treatment, according to reports from the scene.

No road closures were in effect in the vicinity of the blaze.

No road closures were in effect in the vicinity of the blaze, dubbed the Gilman Fire.

There was no immediate word on how it started.

City News Service • Contributed

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A deadly fire, reported just after 1 a.m. on Friday December 27, at an apartment building at 150 N. Allesandro Street, near Latham Avenue in Hemet has claimed four lives.

8-year-old boy Isaac Moreno died Saturday from injuries he suffered in the apartment fire that killed his father and two sisters on Friday. Investigators said preliminary evidence indicates the blaze sparked by an electrical malfunction related to a Christmas tree.

The father, identified as 41-year-old Juan Moreno, initially escaped the blaze with his wife Christina, 11-year-old daughter Jaelyn and infant Cecily. Moreno rushed back into the apartment in a valiant effort to save his daughters who were still trapped in the blaze. He succumbed to the blaze, according to Lt. Jeff Davis of the Hemet Police Department.

The girls were identified by relatives as 12-year-old Maria and 4-year-old Janessa.

The family’s 8-year-old son, Isaac, was rescued but suffered extensive injuries and was airlifted to UCI Medical Center in Orange. He died from his injuries, according to a GoFundMe page set up to pay for the family’s funeral expenses.

Investigators scouring through the remains of the Moreno’s scorched unit for clues were unable to find signs that there were smoke alarms in the home, according to Hemet Fire Chief Scott Brown.

“This tragedy underscores how quickly a fire can spread. Smoke alarms are a key part of a home fire escape plan,” Brown said. Investigators said witness statements were key in helping them determine the cause of the fire.

When police and fire personnel reached the location, more than three-quarters of the occupants of the 25-unit, two-story complex had already gotten out, Davis said.

The blaze was raging on the Northeast corner of the structure, Davis said, and public safety officials were immediately directed to the location by a distressed woman. She told authorities that her husband grabbed their infant and 11-year-old daughter, carrying them to safety, then darted back into the burning building for the rest of his children.

Firefighters found the three victims dead inside the apartment, Davis said.

A vigil and fundraiser for the Moreno family was scheduled for New Years Eve. The event will take place between 8 a.m. and noon at the My City Youth Center, 145 N. Tahquitz Ave.

Both the Murrieta and Hemet locations of So Cal Tacos and Beer are donating 25% of proceeds Saturday and Sunday to the Moreno family, according to the restaurant’s Facebook page. Customers must mention the Moreno family in order for the donation to be applied to their bill.

Red Cross staff was assisting the complex’s 40 displaced residents, most of whom are being held at Acacia Middle School.

Editor’s note: The HSJChronicle would like to thank Debradawn Shockey, close friend of the Moreno family for her personal photos and we would also like to thank Hemet Eye News and John Strangis without whose help this story would have been impossible.

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This is the question Hemet Concert Association (HCA) has been hearing about the first concert of our 47th season on Sunday, October 27, 2019. And the answer is: they are one of the most exciting “fusion” groups in today’s musical scene. “Fire” is a violinist/fiddler with long red hair named Edwin Huizinga who is equally adept with Bach and Bill Monroe. “Grace” is the Grammy-award winning guitarist Bill Coulter, whose stylish talents are also versatile. And “Ash” is the rising-star composer and mandolin player Ashley Broder. 

The trio performs unique and compelling arrangements of Baroque music by composers like Bach and Vivaldi, mixed with traditional American fiddle tunes and shimmering Celtic sounds. Their program for HCA will feature their latest project, Partita Americana, blending the violin music of J.S. Bach with old and new American fiddle music. 

“We strive to present groups that will appeal to everyone in our audience, from the connoisseur to the casual listener to older retired people to young students – we admit anyone age 22 and under for free. I guarantee Fire & Grace & Ash will knock everyone’s socks off!” says HCA’s Artistic Director Diane Mitchell.

Favorite performers at the Carmel Bach Festival where they premiered their Partita Americana in 2018, Fire & Grace & Ash have garnered critical acclaim. “Their playlist is a monument to musical diversity and crossover brilliance…” (Monterey County Now)

Performing both baroque and modern repertoire, Canadian violinist Edwin Huizinga has appeared alongside Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Dawn Upshaw, Mike Marshall, and Stevie Wonder. He has performed with such premiere Baroque ensembles as Tafelmusik and ACRONYM. He is a founding member of the Classical Revolution–an organization dedicated to shaping the future of concerts and jam sessions in alternative locations around the world–and serves as Artistic Director of the Big Sur Music Camp.

Guitarist William Coulter has been performing and recording traditional guitar music for over twenty years. His most recent solo recording, The Road Home (Gourd Music) was met with critical acclaim and, in 2005, he received a Grammy Award for his contribution to The Pink Guitar, a collection of solo guitar arrangements of Henry Mancini’s music. His book of transcriptions, Celtic Crossing, published by Mel Bay, includes all of the music from his recording of the same name. William maintains a classical guitar studio at the University of California at Santa Cruz and teaches at many summer music camps.

Fluent on mandolin (both acoustic and electric), violin, and cello, Ashley Broder crafts melodies, sonic textures and haunting harmonies that distinguish her works easily from the norm. Described as a “mandolin phenomenon” by the San Diego Tribune and highly sought after by a wide range of musicians needing to round out their sound, Broder has performed in folk clubs, festivals, bars, dance halls, orchestras, and recording studios. Broder brings an authentic mandolin virtuosity and flair for the modern instrumental composition to the trio.

Fire & Grace & Ash will perform for HCA, as mentioned, on Sunday, October 27, 2019, in our new venue, the Tahquitz High School Performing Arts Center located at 4425 Titan Trail, Hemet. Doors open at 2:00 p.m.; the concert begins at 2:30 p.m. For tickets and other information, visit: www.hemetconcerts.org or call HCA President Tom Garnella at 951.927.2449.

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Authorities say a 46-year-old San Jacinto man died after losing control of his speeding vehicle and plowing head-on into a San Jacinto tree earlier this morning, Sunday, Sept. 1.

The accident, which happened on State St., just south of Soboba Rd. and north of Record St., caused the victim to be ejected from his vehicle; which exploded and burst into flames upon impact. The car fire then ignited a vegetation fire. It was not immediately known if the victim was wearing a seat-belt at the time of the crash, according to CHP.

Witnesses from as far as several blocks away later reported seeing the vehicle traveling at over 100 mph just moments before hearing a loud boom followed by an explosion.

CHP, along with Riverside County Sheriff’s and Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire departments and other emergency personnel were dispatched to the scene just after 1 a.m., after receiving reports of a vehicle that had smashed into a tree and burst into flames, CHP Sgt. Brian King later reported from the scene.

Deputies arrived within minutes of the dispatched call and confirmed finding a vehicle fully engulfed in flames and updated that the car fire had begun to spread to nearby vegetation.

More than two dozen Cal Fire and Soboba firefighters and paramedics soon arrived at the scene and spent about thirty minutes knocking down the vegetation blaze ignited by the vehicle fire. The impact left the car, which was later described as a 2018 Dodge Charger, destroyed and completely unrecognizable.

The driver and sole-occupant of the vehicle, who was identified Michael Anthony Vega, 46, of San Jacinto, suffered major traumatic injuries when he was ejected from his car and was pronounced deceased at the scene at 1:10 a.m.

During their subsequent investigation, CHP officers determined the driver of the Dodge had been traveling northbound on State St. at a high rate of speed, when “for reasons still under investigation the vehicle went off the roadway and collided into a tree,” King reported.

“As a result of the impact, the driver was ejected out of the vehicle and the vehicle caught on fire,” the Sgt. continued; saying, “The tree that it struck then caught on fire as well.”

The tremendous, high-speed collision left vehicle parts and debris scattered across more than 100 yards of the roadway, leaving it blocked and impassable.

As their investigation continued, CHP located and interviewed at least one witness who told them they were ordering food at a Del Taco in the area of State St. and Ramona Expressway when they saw the victim’s vehicle race by.

The witness “put the vehicle at over 100 mph”, according to Sgt.

While officials worked at the scene and cleaned up extensive debris left by the crash they called for the temporary closure of State St. The road remain closed for several hours, and was reopened around 4 a.m.

Alcohol and/or drug intoxication have not been ruled out as contributing factors in the fiery wreck and CHP’s investigation into the deadly crash is ongoing.

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Multiple engine crews were sent to the location and encountered flames raging inside the residence, with a column of smoke visible from Interstate 215 to the east, officials said.

Firefighters prevented the blaze from spreading to properties immediately adjacent to the doublewide, according to reports from the scene. The fire was fully contained at 4:10 p.m.It was unclear whether the property had been occupied.  The cause of the fire was under investigation.

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