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Public Safety

Brush Fire Near San Diego-Riverside County Line 65% Contained

A wildfire that blackened 139 acres of brush near the San Diego-Riverside county line over the weekend was about 65 percent contained Monday morning.

Nearly 400 firefighters have been working to extinguish the blaze along the shoulder of southbound Interstate 15 just south of Temecula Parkway since it broke out late Saturday morning, according to Cal Fire. One firefighter suffered a minor injury during the effort.

Fire officials were hopeful cooler weather this week would help slow the fire down. It broke out amid the first major heat wave of the summer season. High temperatures of 114 degrees in Thermal set a daily heat record Friday and tied one Sunday.

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Slightly cooler weather is expected Monday as a weak low pressure system moves through California, according to the National Weather Service.

The so-called Temecula Fire was burning near a second mostly contained blaze in Pala, at the northern edge of San Diego County. The stubborn Pala fire started in a house on Pala Temecula Road Tuesday afternoon, destroyed a few abandoned sheds and grew to about 70 acres, according to Cal Fire. The Pala Fire was 90 percent contained Sunday.

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