A brush fire broke out Tuesday in the Santa Ana River bottom in Riverside, quickly scorching two acres amid mild Santa Ana winds, prompting the closure of a road.
The non-injury blaze was reported at 12:03 p.m. Tuesday in the area of Mission Inn Avenue and Indian Hill Road, according to the Riverside Fire Department.
The agency said multiple city and Riverside County Fire Department crews were sent to the location and encountered flames moving at a moderate rate to the southeast.
Officials immediately requested that Riverside Police Department officers shut down Mission Inn between Indian Hill and Redwood Drive for public safety.
No homes were in immediate danger, according to reports from the scene.
A Cal Fire water-dropping helicopter was summoned to make drops on the brusher.
A fire captain at the scene said crews were making progress getting ahead of the flames, but there was no containment as of 12:30 p.m.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known. The river bottom is rife with homeless encampments, and cooking, warming and debris fires are common year-round.