A fire in Banning burning toward the Morongo Indian Reservation is causing smoke to travel into the Morongo Basin. More than 200 CalFire and Riverside County firefighters responded to reports of a vegetation fire near the 10000 block of Mias Canyon Road in Banning, according to the Riverside County Fire Department. The fire is currently 600 acres and 5 percent contained. Around 9 p.m., the fire department announced the cause of the fire was a tree branch that fell into powerlines. The tree had been weakened by an active beehive inside the tree. The flames were not immediately threatening homes or other structures, but were growing fast due to medium and heavy vegetation and gusty winds in the rural area.
