A brush fire that erupted Friday near the Western Riverside County Animal Shelter in Jurupa Valley scorched about three acres and threatened the shelter before crews stopped it.
The non-injury blaze was reported at 4:25 p.m. in the area of Clay Street and Van Buren Boulevard, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.
The agency said multiple engine crews from the county and city of Riverside Fire Department were sent to the location, encountering flames moving at a slow rate in heavy brush along the north side of the Santa Ana River bottom, within a couple hundred yards of barns and other structures associated with the shelter.
“All livestock, birds and dogs removed from the barn and bungalow near the fire zone,” the Department of Animal Services said in a social media post. “All hands on deck had animals removed and in a safe zone in less than 10 minutes.”
No animals were harmed, officials said.
Fire crews established defensive positions to prevent the flames from spreading toward the animal campus and requested a Cal Fire water-dropping helicopter to make runs on the brusher, according to officials at the scene.
At 5:25 p.m., the fire’s forward rate of spread was stopped, and firefighters were making steady progress encircling the blaze, which was expected to be fully contained before nightfall.
There was no immediate word on how the fire might have started.