A brush fire that erupted Tuesday in the Santa Ana River bottom in Jurupa Valley charred roughly seven acres as crews pushed through heavy vegetation to reach the flames.
The non-injury blaze was reported at 11:22 a.m. Tuesday on the north side of the dry channel, in the area of Bain Street and Limonite Avenue, just north of the Hidden Valley Nature Center, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.
The agency said that multiple engine and hand crews from the county and Riverside Fire Department were sent to the location and encountered flames moving at a moderate rate through thick brush.
No homes or other structures were immediately threatened.
Two Cal Fire air tankers and two water-dropping helicopters were summoned to the location, but as of 11:45 a.m., no runs had been initiated.
No evacuation orders appeared imminent.
The fire’s potential growth, if unchecked, was gauged at 50 acres, according to reports from the scene.
There was no word on what might have triggered the brusher. The river bottom is teeming with homeless encampments, and debris, cooking and warming fires occur year-round.