Posted September 20, 2009, 4:06 PM.

Highway 79 South was closed at Anza Road as a precaution Saturday night and most of Sunday. It reopened Sunday afternoon.

The fire was reported at 3:52pm Saturday. 500 residents were evacuated through the reverse 911 system. The evacuation area was north of Vail Lake, to Sage Road.

115 firefighters were on hand to fight the blaze, including helicopters and air tankers.

Of the twelve structures burned, conflicting reports said either 6 to 8 of those were homes.

Full containment occurred Sunday evening at 6pm.

The cause of the fire was reportedly an overheated catalytic converter.

For more on the fire, please see the following news articles:

• Fire destroys several structures southeast of Temecula - Press-Enterprise
• Firefighters aim for full containment of Temecula fire - SWRNN.com
• Authorities: Overheated catalytic converter caused fire east of Temecula - SWRNN.com
• AGUANGA: Highway 79 reopens after blaze - The Californian

Photos are courtesy of Duncan Shand.

Vail Lake