JURUPA VALLEY — A brush fire broke out Monday in the Santa Ana River bottom amid offshore winds that propelled it in the direction of homes, prompting crews to deploy for structure protection while working to get a line around the blaze.
By 5:50 p.m., the fire had been knocked down, except in an area very deep in the riverbed, according to nonprofit fire information app Watch Duty.
Earlier, an evacuation warning was issued due to the fire north of Jurupa Avenue, east of Crest Avenue and west of Van Buren Boulevard, Watch Duty reported.
The non-injury fire was reported at 4:45 p.m. in the area of Clay Street and Van Buren Boulevard, along the boundary separating Jurupa Valley and Riverside, according to the Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department.
The agency said multiple engine and ladder crews from the Cal Fire/Riverside and Riverside fire departments were sent to the location, encountering flames fanned by weakening Santa Ana winds toward a residential area along Bradford Street.
A third alarm was declared as the fire moved closer to homes a short time later.
No Cal Fire aircraft were summoned due to the onset of darkness.
The exact size of the fire was not reported, and the cause wasn’t immediately known.
The river bottom is rife with homeless encampments, and cooking, warming and debris fires are a year-round occurrence.
The mercury never exceeded 60 degrees Monday in the Riverside metropolitan area, with cold north-northeasterly winds gusting to 25-30 mph.
SCNG staff writer Sierra van der Brug contributed to this story
