The fire, dubbed the Apple Fire by local firefighters - who routinely give blazes identifying names - was reported Friday in Cherry Valley, a community about 75 miles east of Los Angeles and had destroyed at least one family home as of Saturday evening, Reuters reported.
Residents of 2,586 homes, totaling around 7,800 people, had been told to evacuate, the department said.
Photographs shared by the Riverside County fire department on Saturday showed thick plumes of smoke filling the sky over the mountainous region.
The fire had grown from 700 acres on Friday evening to 4,125 acres by Saturday evening and was not contained at all.
MR/PR