A fire that erupted Thursday in a homeless encampment along the Santa Ana River bottom in Jurupa Valley was quickly knocked down without anyone being injured.
The blaze was reported about 4 p.m. in the area of Clay Street and General Road, on the north side of the river bottom, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.
Multiple engine crews and truck companies from the county and city of Riverside were sent to the location and encountered flames burning in a large debris pile, surrounded by thick vegetation. Firefighters fully contained the blaze at 4:25 p.m.
The transients using the camp apparently fled when the fire started.
It was unclear whether the pile was intentionally set ablaze, or the fire started some other way. The river bottom is dotted with squatter camps, stretching from Norco to the east end of Jurupa Valley.