A brush fire that broke out in the Santa Ana River bottom amid offshore winds that propelled it in the direction of homes burned roughly 38 acres Wednesday before its progress was stopped.
The non-injury Clay Fire was reported at 4:45 p.m. in the area of Clay Street and Van Buren Boulevard, along the boundary separating Jurupa Valley and Riverside, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.
The agency said multiple engine and ladder crews from the Riverside County and Riverside fire departments were sent to the location, encountering flames fanned by weakening Santa Ana winds toward a residential area along Bradford Street.
A third alarm was declared as the fire moved closer to the Bradford homes a short time later, and the neighborhood was briefly placed under an evacuation warning.
No Cal Fire aircraft were used due to the onset of darkness.
As of 11 p.m. Tuesday, the fire was 40% contained, and firefighters were making progress establishing a line completely around the fire, officials said.
The cause of the fire wasn’t immediately known, but the river bottom is rife with homeless encampments, and cooking, warming and debris fires are a year-round occurrence.
The temperature never exceeded 60 degrees Monday in the Riverside metropolitan area, with blustery north-northeasterly winds gusting to 25-30 mph most of the day.