Wildfire prompts evacuations of mobile home park, houses

A water dropping helicopter heads back to get more water as a wildfire burns near homes in the brush in Beaumont, Calif., Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2016. (Terry Pierson/The Press-Enterprise via AP) (The Associated Press)

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Women take pictures of a wildfire from a pickup truck as the fire burns near homes in the brush in Beaumont, Calif., Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2016. (Terry Pierson/The Press-Enterprise via AP) (The Associated Press)

A jet tanker dumps retardant on the hillside above homes to block the southern movement of a wildfire as it burns near homes in the brush in Beaumont, Calif., Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2016. (Terry Pierson/The Press-Enterprise via AP) (The Associated Press)

BANNING, Calif. – A wildfire tearing through brush east of Los Angeles has forced the evacuation of a mobile home park and scattered houses.

The blaze erupted unincorporated Cherry Valley near Banning shortly before 12:30 p.m. and quickly surged through 400 acres of dry chaparral.

More than 300 firefighters and more than a dozen aircraft are battling the flames as they spread over the hilly area.

The Banning Bench area and the Highland Springs Village Mobile Home Park have been evacuated.

There's no word on what sparked the fire, but it follows a recent series of deadly and destructive blazes around the state, which is suffering through its fifth year of drought.