Crews make progress on brush fires burning in Moreno Valley, Acton

The 4,176-acre Springs Fire threatening homes in Moreno Valley is now 25% contained, according to CAL FIRE.

The 4,176-acre Springs Fire burning in Moreno Valley is now 25% contained, according to CAL FIRE. Fire officials believe they are now gaining the upper hand in the fight.

Evacuation orders and warnings remain in place for nearby residents.

A strong flare-up on Friday night sent many people in the nearby neighborhood into a panic, evacuating their homes as the blaze drew near.

"I looked out, and I was in shock. I was, oh my God, I thought the neighbors' houses were actually on fire," said Moreno Valley Ranch resident Frank Disney.

Those who stayed behind despite mandatory evacuation orders were doing all they could to try to protect their homes in the Moreno Valley Ranch neighborhood.

"I've lived here 20 years, we've had a couple fires, but it's never gotten this close," said neighbor Maurice Williams.

Water-dropping helicopters hit the flames hard from the air as crews made a stand head-on.

The fire first broke out around 11 a.m., with strong winds fueling the flames burning in the foothills between Moreno Valley and Lake Perris.

"I've been rinsing off old pergola and just anything that's flammable, just wetting it down the best that we can, so hopefully we can alleviate any type of embers making their way into places," neighbor Dave Cappuccilli said.

"I came out. The winds were strong, and the sky had turned like brown. It was just mindblowing," Deepak Bahl said.

The flames were calming down until the dramatic change in conditions just feet from homes.

"I thought, 'Oh, they are going up in flames,' then all of a sudden, firetrucks just showed up," Disney said.

Crews will be in the neighborhood all night, keeping an eye on the hot spots. For now, the Santa Ana winds have died down.

AIR7 flew over the 4,176-acre Springs Fire in the Moreno Valley area on Friday night, where the flames were seen dangerously close to homes.

AIR7 flew over the 4,176-acre Springs Fire in the Moreno Valley area on Friday night, where the flames were seen dangerously close to homes.

The blaze was creeping over the hillside, into the Moreno Valley Ranch neighborhood.

AIR7 video captured helicopters performing water drops over the flames. The fire appeared to die down slightly during the time AIR7 was above the neighborhood.

The 4,176-acre Springs Fire burning in Riverside County, east of Moreno Valley and near Lake Perris, is now 10% contained, according to CAL FIRE.

As the containment goes up, some evacuation orders and warnings have been lifted for residents in the area.

The evacuation orders have been lifted for zones RVC-0748 and RVC-0826, and the evacuation warnings have been lifted for zones MOE-0505, MOE-0637, MOE-0504 and MOE-0640.

All other evacuation orders and warnings remain in effect, according to CAL FIRE.

For more information and to see a map of evacuation zones, click here.

All evacuation orders have been downgraded for areas near the Crown Fire burning in north Los Angeles County, but an evacuation warning remains in place for some.

Zone LAC-E087 was downgraded to an evacuation warning from an evacuation order. Evacuation warnings were lifted for zones AGD-AIRPORT-A, AGD-BRIGGS-A, AGD-ROCKS-A, LAC-E038, LAC-E040, LAC-E086 and LAC-E089.

The 345-acre Crown Fire in Acton is now 25% contained, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Forward progress was stopped around 4 p.m.

See further details and a map of the evacuation zones here.