In Macy Fire, residents can now go home after evacuations lifted in Riverside County

After firefighters rushed to extinguish a rapidly growing fire, a mandatory evacuation order for residents in a nearby Riverside County community has been downgraded to a warning Friday afternoon.

The Macy Fire started at about 5:40 p.m. Thursday near the intersection of Orange Street and Macy Street in El Cariso, an unincorporated area of Lake Elsinore. As of 7:25 p.m., the fire had burned 134 acres.

The fire grew to 145 acres overnight and was 15% contained as of Friday morning. Cal Fire officials say that they have reached 98% containment as of Sunday evening. 

Around that time, Riverside County Fire Department officials said a mandatory evacuation order was lifted, changing it to a warning for residents who may still want to remain evacuated voluntarily or just stay prepared in case they need to leave later. 

"Residents can return to their homes," the department said. "Please use caution as fire resources continue working in the area."  

The previous day, shortly after the wildfire broke out, authorities issued an evacuation order for nearby residents and closed the hillside to the public. Firefighters shut down the nearby Highway 74 to the Orange County line in both directions to allow resources to flow in and out of the area. 

As of Friday afternoon, a stretch of the highway from Grand Avenue to South Main Divide remains closed.

While Grand Avenue was previously closed, fire officials said Friday that it had been fully reopened in both directions.

"Despite the strong progress by our firefighters, we are still facing challenging conditions across the county," Rob Roseen, a spokesperson for the fire department, said, warning of risky weather conditions including high heat and low humidity. 

Firefighters released the below map to show the evacuation area. 

Here is an interactive map outlining the area. 

Originally, firefighters established an evacuation center at Lakeside High School but moved it to the Elsinore High School, 21800 Canyon Drive, Wildomar, several miles from the fire. 

Lakeside High School was less than a mile from the blaze.

On Thursday, firefighters were on the ground and in the air to extinguish the blaze. At the time, it was 92 degrees in Lake Elsinore, and the area was under an excessive heat warning. 

There have been no reports of injuries. However, at least two buildings — one home and one garage — were destroyed.

"My house fully burned," said Ruben Mahgerefteh, the man whose home was torched in the blaze on Thursday. "It takes everything away from you. So, it's extremely difficult."

His mother, Gina, who also lives on the property but did not have her house damaged, says that she saw someone ignite the fire. 

"We saw the homeless, two came out from my property," she said. "Saw police catch him, it's terrible."

Despite their claims, firefighters have not yet determined what exactly caused the fire. 

Firefighters sent 30 engines, two water tenders, two helicopters, two dozers and four hand crews, culminating in a total of 200 personnel in the area.

Several online fundraisers have been started for the Mahgerefteh family.

Below is a map of wildfires currently burning across the state.