Anza "Pony Fire" still under investigation

ANZA - The cause of a brush fire that burned an unoccupied outbuilding in Anza remained under investigation today, a county fire spokeswoman said.

The blaze, dubbed the ''Pony Fire,'' was contained at 35 acres around 8 p.m. Thursday. The fire broke out about seven hours earlier near Howard Road and Pony Trail, southwest of Idyllwild, said Riverside County Fire Department spokeswoman Melody Hendrickson.

Firefighters and Riverside County sheriff's deputies initially evacuated a dozen structures, but crews contained the threat within an hour, and there were no injuries, she said.

More than 160 federal, state, county and Pechanga firefighters fought the blaze, and the California Highway Patrol closed Howard Road from Pony Trail to Old Ranch Road for three hou

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Structures No Longer Threatened by Anza Fire, 35 acres burned

The Anza brush fire has grown to 35 acres, but is 50 percent contained, a Riverside County Fire Department spokeswoman says.

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ANZA - Firefighters managed to keep a 15-acre brush fire away from structures in the Anza area this afternoon. The blaze broke out for unknown reasons around 1:05 p.m. near Howard Road and Pony Trail, southwest of Idyllwild, said Riverside County Fire Department spokeswoman Melody Hendrickson. Firefighters and Riverside County sheriff's deputies initially evacuated a dozen structures, but crew contained the threat within an hour. ''There's a lot of sage and chaparral and ranch homes up there,'' said John Miller, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service, one of the agencies that responded to the blaze. ''When we have fires, a lot of times it's a threat to the homes.'' He said federal, state, county and Pechanga firefighters held the blaze at 15 acres shortly before 2 p.m. The California Highway Patrol closed Howard Road from Pony Trail to Old Ranch Road as more than 160 firefighters fought the blaze.