A brush fire that broke out Monday along the Santa Ana River bottom in Riverside scorched roughly four acres before it was stopped.
The non-injury blaze was reported just before 6 a.m. in the area of the Carlson Dog Park, just off Mission Inn Avenue and Indian Hill Road, according to the Riverside Fire Department.
The agency said that multiple city, Riverside County Fire Department and San Bernardino County Fire Department engine crews were sent to the location and encountered flames moving at a moderate rate through a former Boy Scout camp.
Santa Ana winds were light at the time and did not push the brusher toward residences.
Crews gained the upper hand on the fire without need of air support, fully containing it before 8 a.m., according to officials.
As of 11:15 a.m., firefighters were still mopping up at the location.
The cause of the blaze was under investigation. The river bottom is replete with homeless encampments, and cooking, warming and debris fires are common throughout the year.
Fires in the river bottom are frequent and homeless people are usually the blame. The authorities have cleaned up many areas but they keep coming back. Some have said that this their right since it’s public. The City tried to keep the area clean when they had people picking up trash weekly. The fire department does a great job by responding quickly and using water resources nearby.