A brush fire that erupted on the south end of Jurupa Valley was holding Thursday at 33 acres, with firefighters fortifying containment lines and edging closer to completely encircling the brusher.
“We’ve got crews patrolling the lines, looking for and knocking down hot spots,” Riverside County Fire Department Capt. John Clingingsmith told City News Service Thursday morning. “We’re still assessing whether there was any actual structural damage anywhere.”
The blaze remained 70% contained. It had not progressed since the evening hours Wednesday.
The brusher was reported just after 4 p.m. Wednesday in the area of Yearling Way and Baldwin Avenue, just east of the Van Buren Boulevard corridor.
Officials said engine and truck crews from the county, as well as the Riverside Fire Department, Corona Fire Department and surrounding agencies, deployed to the location, encountering flames moving at a moderate rate through medium vegetation in the immediate vicinity of homes.
Three Cal Fire air tankers and two water-dropping helicopters initiated runs on the brusher shortly before 5 p.m. Wednesday, according to reports from the scene. The drops stopped the fire’s forward rate of spread, after which crews were able to start establishing containment lines. The aircraft cleared the location by nightfall.
One person reportedly suffered a broken arm while trying to evacuate his property, and two other residents suffered smoke inhalation. All were taken to Riverside Community Hospital for treatment of the non-life-threatening injuries.
Mandatory evacuation orders were implemented for properties on Yearling, nearby Gray Mare Drive, 58th Street and neighboring streets, while warnings were declared for residential areas to the north and east of the fire. However, as of 11 p.m. Wednesday, all evacuation orders and warnings had been lifted.
Sheriff’s deputies shut down access to Yearling and other streets, which were reopened Thursday.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.