Shortly after 1 a.m., firefighters responded to the 28000 block of Bonita Vista Road in the San Jacinto Mountains community of Mountain Center and found flames burning in heavy vegetation and pine trees, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.
By 3:30 a.m., the blaze had grown to 250 acres and mandatory evacuation orders were issued for residents of Mountain Center.
Evacuation orders for everyone west of Highway 243 and State Route 74 were lifted Friday afternoon.
An evacuation center was established at the Banning Community Center at 789 N. San Gorgonio Avenue.
The blaze, dubbed the Bonita Fire, is currently 5% contained.
A handful of streets in the area have been closed:
About 8,000 Southern California Edison were without power Friday afternoon after a public safety power shutoff that includes several people near the 60 Freeway near Country Village Road in Jurupa Valley.
According to the Santa Ana Wildfire Threat Index, for Friday and Saturday, all of Southern California is in the orange rating indicating a moderate threat because of the extremely dry weather conditions.
It's unclear what sparked the Bonita Fire.