The Mountain Fire, which firefighters expected to be contained by Wednesday of last week, is still not fully contained. The fire was first reported the afternoon of July 15, east of Idyllwild, and has burned more than 27,500 acres. It was started by an electrical equipment failure on private property in the Mountain Center area and has destroyed 23 structures, including seven homes. At its peak, smoke from the fire covered the Morongo Basin, spurring health warnings due to poor air quality from the smoke. Extreme terrain at the northwest corner of the fire perimeter has slowed construction of a fire line to fully contain the fire, leading to only 98 percent containment by Sunday morning.
