A brush fire broke out Thursday on a hillside in Mead Valley — a quarter-mile from where another blaze occurred hours earlier — quickly charring about five acres as Cal Fire aircraft made a series of runs in an attempt to slow its advance.
The non-injury blaze was reported at 3:25 p.m. Thursday in the area of Tyler and Decker roads, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.
The agency said multiple engine and hand crews deployed to the location, encountering flames moving at a moderate rate to the east in medium vegetation, heading downhill into a riparian area.
No homes or other structures were immediately threatened.
Three Cal Fire air tankers and a water-dropping helicopter initiated drops on the brusher within 20 minutes of the first report, redirecting the fire’s path but not halting its advance, according to reports from the scene.
Officials said the blaze could expand to 100 acres if not slowed down within a short period.
Earlier in the afternoon, an acre-wide fire erupted just to the northwest at Clark Street and Cajalco Road. However, it was contained in less than an hour.
Sheriff’s deputies were called to both fires to enforce street closures, but it was unclear whether they were looking for any potential arson suspects.