A brush fire that erupted Wednesday on the south end of Jurupa Valley injured three people and threatened multiple homes, charring about 35 acres before Cal Fire aircraft slowed its advance, enabling crews to begin establishing containment lines.
The blaze was reported just after 4 p.m. Wednesday in the area of Yearling Way and Baldwin Avenue, just east of the Van Buren Boulevard corridor, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.
The agency said engine and truck crews from the county, as well as the Riverside Fire Department, Corona Fire Department and departments from other surrounding cities, deployed to the location, encountering flames moving at a moderate rate through medium vegetation in the immediate vicinity of homes.
Three Cal Fire air tankers and two water-dropping helicopters began runs on the fire shortly before 5 p.m., according to reports from the scene. The drops reduced the fire’s rate of spread, after which firefighters were able to start establishing containment lines on the western boundary of the blaze.
One person reportedly suffered a broken arm while trying to evacuate his property, and two other residents suffered smoke inhalation injuries. All were taken to Riverside Community Hospital for treatment.
Mandatory evacuation orders were issued for properties on Yearling Way, nearby Gray Mare Drive and 58th Street, while warnings were declared for residential areas to the north and east of the fire.
Sheriff’s deputies shut down access to Yearling Way and several neighboring streets.
Officials at the scene anticipated that full containment wouldn’t happen until well into the night, or possibly the predawn hours Thursday.
The cause of the fire wasn’t immediately known.