A fire that broke out Thursday near a Jurupa Valley intersection charred 40 acres and led to evacuations before it was stopped.
The blaze was reported at 2:20 p.m. along Van Buren Boulevard north of the Santa Ana River bottom, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.
Multiple engine and hand crews from the county, Corona and Riverside fire departments, as well as Murrieta Fire & Rescue, were sent to the location and encountered flames moving at a moderate rate through heavy vegetation. The fire jumped Van Buren from west to east, approaching transient camps and houses along Pedley Road.
With the help of two Cal Fire water-dropping helicopters, crews stopped the fire’s forward rate of spread about 5 p.m.
At the height of the blaze, sheriff’s deputies evacuated residences on Pedley, between 54th and 56th streets, as well as on Felspar Street at 56th, according to reports from the scene. The homeless camps were also evacuated.
All evacuation orders affecting the residences were expected to be lifted by nightfall.
There were no immediate reports of damage.
Crews were expected to remain on the fire lines overnight, mopping up.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.