Two fires that broke out Friday in the Santa Ana River bottom in Riverside merged into one blaze, scorching roughly two acres as crews worked on containment.
The non-injury fires were reported at 12:28 p.m. Friday in the area of Mission Inn Avenue and Crestmore Road, along Riverside’s municipal boundary.
The Riverside Fire Department said one fire was a quarter acre and the other a half-acre before they combined amid light to moderate Santa Ana winds.
No homes or other structures were immediately threatened in either Riverside or Jurupa Valley, which is on the north side of the river bottom.
Multiple city and Riverside County Fire Department crews deployed to the location, requesting two Cal Fire air tankers and a water-dropping helicopter for support.
As of 1 p.m., firefighters were attempting to establish hose lays in the river bottom.
No evacuation orders were imminent.
There was no immediate word on what may have triggered the fires. The river bottom is teeming with homeless encampments, and cooking, warming and debris fires are common year-round.