Riverside is right up against some hot, dry hillsides; I’m guessing this won’t be the first So-Cal town to do this, particularly with the July 4 holiday coming up.

“Our hillsides are volatile,” Wilson said. “I’d hate to burn people up just because it’s a holiday.”

Hawkins said the fire-prone areas would probably remain closed until December or until a significant change occurs in the parched conditions.

So far this season, the Hemet area has received just 3.84 inches of rain in contrast to the normal seasonal total of 11.75 inches.

“We must have a dampening down of fuels,” Hawkins said Thursday.

Such closures are not unusual in a county accustomed to wildfires and red-flag warnings. Last year, Riverside County/Cal Fire responded to 17,537 fire calls, which Hawkins told supervisors this week is high for the county’s size.

Fortunately, most of the PCT hikers are in the Sierra by now, so they probably won’t have fire issues for another month or so.