A brush fire that erupted Tuesday in the Santa Ana River bottom in Jurupa Valley charred about 25 acres and threatened homes, prompting mandatory evacuations.
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 numerous 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.
By 12:40 p.m., the flames were spreading rapidly toward a groups of homes in the area of Arlington and Western avenues in Riverside, leading to evacuation orders for dozens of homes around that intersection, including along Sunnyvale Drive, Western Avenue and Western Hills Drive.
Several Cal Fire air tankers and water-dropping helicopters were summoned to the location, but due to limited availability, most of the requested aircraft had not reached the area as of 12:50 p.m., according to reports from the scene.
The fire’s potential growth, if unchecked, was gauged at 80 acres, officials said.
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.