Brush Fire Ignites 20+ Acres In The Santa Ana River Bottom In RivCo: Cal Fire

JURUPA VALLEY, CA — A brush fire that ignited Tuesday in Jurupa Valley quickly charred and ballooned into a fire that has burned 20 acres of riverbottom land, with potential for 50 acres as crews pushed through heavy vegetation to reach the flames.

Shortly after 11:15 a.m., firefighters were called to the scene of the non-injury blaze on the north side of the dry channel, in the area of Bain Street and Limonite Avenue, just north of the Hidden Valley Nature Center and the Santa Ana River Wildlife Area, according to the Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department.

Multiple engine and hand crews from both Cal Fire and the Riverside Fire Department arrived at the location to encounter flames moving at a moderate rate through thick brush.

No homes or other structures were immediately threatened.

As of 11:45 a.m., two Cal Fire air tankers and two water-dropping helicopters were summoned to the location, though no runs had been initiated.

No evacuation orders appeared imminent.

The fire's potential growth, if unchecked, was gauged at 50 acres, according to reports from the scene.

There was no word on what might have triggered the brusher. The river bottom is a known location of multiple homeless encampments, and debris, cooking and warming fires occur year-round.