Wildfire Demolishes Homes, Scorches 2,500 Acres Near Banning; Residents Ordered to Evacuate

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 At least four structures including homes have been demolished and residents forced to evacuate as a fast-moving wildfire consumed a wide swath of land between Banning and Idyllwild on Wednesday afternoon, officials said. Dubbed the “Silver Fire,” the blaze had grown to 2,500 acres as of about 4:30 p.m. Aerial video showed multiple structures burning. It was first reported about 2:05 p.m. in the area of Poppet Flats Road and Highway 243 (map), which was closed to traffic between Banning and Azalea Trail, according to the Riverside County Fire Department. The mountain communities of Poppet Flats, Twin Pines And Silent Valley were under mandatory evacuation order due the blaze, which the department said was "burning at a critical rate." An evacuation center had been set up at Hemet High School 41701 East Stetson Ave. in Hemet. The area is about 20 miles north-northwest of the origin of the Mountain Fire, which burned 43 square miles last month. In that blaze, which prompted the evacuation of thousands of area residents, fire officials had warned of extremely flammable fuels due in part to a dry winter. The Silver Fire had scorched more than 300 acres within an hour, according to the fire department’s online incident report. Four air tankers, five helicopters, 212 firefighters and 51 engine companies have been assigned to the firefight so far. About 450 firefighters and other personnel were on scene. Temperatures in the area were in the high 80s Wednesday afternoon with wind gusts up to 17 mph, according to the National Weather Service. Humidity was about 17 percent. On the other side of the San Jacinto Mountains, on the edge of Palm Springs, a fire broke out Tuesday and grew to 60 acres in the extremely steep, rocky terrain near the base of the popular Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. The tram had reopened by Wednesday. Refresh this page for updates. Follow NBCLA for the latest LA news, events and entertainment: iPhone/iPad App | Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | Instagram | RSS | Text Alerts | Email Alerts