A fire broke out Thursday in piles of pallets and other building materials stacked in a Perris storage yard, leaving a firefighter injured and forcing closure of a road for public safety.
The three-alarm blaze was reported about 3 p.m. near the intersection of North Perris Boulevard and Orange Avenue, less than a mile east of Interstate 215, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.
The agency said a dozen engine crews and two truck companies were sent to the location and encountered flames raging on the grounds.
Firefighters were able to prevent the blaze from spreading beyond the property, where thick columns of black smoke swirled skyward, visible throughout Perris Valley, according to reports from the scene.
A crewman suffered unspecified, non-life-threatening injuries while working to contain the blaze, officials said. He was taken to Riverside University Medical Center in Moreno Valley for evaluation.
Sheriff’s deputies shut down Perris Boulevard between Orange and Rider Street to keep motorists away from the inferno. Drivers were urged to find an alternate north-south route.
There was no estimate on a possible containment time, and the cause of the fire was under investigation.