A wildfire that ravaged 34 acres along the Santa Ana River valley floor in Jurupa Valley was fully contained on Friday.
According to the Riverside County Fire Department, the “beach fire,” which resulted in no injuries, was reported at 12:55 p.m. Thursday on the south bank of the dry canal, just off Beach Street and Limonite Avenue.
The agency said several firefighting and emergency crews from the county, as well as from the Riverside, Corona and Pomona fire departments and other agencies were dispatched to the scene and encountered flames slowly spreading northeastward in dense brush.
Three Cal Fire firefighting aircraft and two firefighting helicopters began operations in the brush shortly before 2 p.m., giving firefighters time to fight through the excessive vegetation to reach the fire, stopping its further spread at 4:20 p.m. on Thursday.
No houses or other buildings were threatened and no roads were closed.
Shortly after 4 p.m. on Friday, it was announced that the fire was completely contained.
The cause of the brush fire was under investigation, but the river bottom is full of temporary camp sites between Highgrove and Norco, and cooking, warming and debris fires are common throughout the year. The highest concentration of camps is between Jurupa Valley to the north and Riverside to the south.
County flood protection and city regulations prohibit these camps, but as soon as one is cleared by authorities, new ones are set up elsewhere around the riverbed.
