The Manzanita Fire was reported shortly after 3 p.m. near Highway 79 and Dump Road, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.
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Cal Fire officials said the cause of the brush fire was a single-car crash. Two people in the vehicle were hospitalized with unknown injuries.
The brush fire quickly grew from 125 acres at 4 p.m. to a massive 5,000 acres by midnight. The blaze was at 10 percent containment, fire officials said.
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Both directions of Highway 79 were temporarily closed from Beaumont Avenue to Gilman Springs Road. Officials reported at about 11:45 p.m. the southbound side was reopened and the northbound side was limited to one lane.
Voluntary evacuations were issued for Highland Home, Death Valley and Longhorn roads, as well as Shirleon Drive. Evacuation warnings were also in place for Highland Home Road east of Highway 243, which includes the communities of Poppet Flats and Silent Valley.
Riverside County sheriff's officials said they "accidentally" put out evacuation alerts to residents in cities where there is no fire, including Norco, Corona and Jurupa Valley. The department said it was "working to correct it." The alert was meant for the Poppet Flats area.
To stay up to date with evacuation warnings in the Riverside County area, visit rvcfire.org.
A brush fire in Santa Clarita that has burned 760 acres was also sparked by a vehicle crash on Sunday. On Monday, fire crews were making significant progress on that fire.