A brush fire ignited in the Jurupa Valley on Tuesday, prompting evacuation orders and injuring four people as fire crews continued to battle a slew of blazes burning amid dry and warm conditions in the Southland.
The Bain fire was reported at 11:22 a.m. near the Santa Ana River bottom in the community of Mira Linda. Fanned by gusty winds, it quickly pushed up the nearby hills, scorching 1,374 acres acres by 8:30 p.m., according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Four civilians were transported to a hospital for treatment, three from smoke inhalation injuries and one from a trauma injury, according to Capt. John Clingingsmith Jr., a spokesperson for the Cal Fire Riverside Unit. Evacuation orders have been issued in surrounding residential areas, and evacuation centers are open at the La Sierra Senior Center, at 5215 La Sierra Ave., and the Jurupa Community Center, at 4810 Pedley Road.
At one point in the afternoon, firefighting aircraft were briefly grounded as three civilian drones were spotted flying in the airspace. It is illegal to fly drones in a fire zone as they have the potential to collide with and damage firefighting planes. During the Palisades fire in January 2025, a drone punctured a hole in the the wing of a Super Scooper plane.
“When we see one drone in the area, let alone three or more, it takes a portion of time to verify that that airspace is clear and it’s safe for our aircraft to start flying again,” Clingingsmith said.
On Tuesday, it took about 15 minutes to get planes back in the air, but Clingingsmith said that even small pauses can have serious consequences.
“At the height of things moving with the wind, even 10 minutes can really alter the course of the fire,” he said.
One hundred firefighter personnel were assigned to the Bain fire. By 4:30 p.m., they were making strong progress on halting forward progression on the northern, southern and most of the western portion of the fire, while the eastern flank continued to have the most activity and potential for growth, Clingingsmith said.
The fire was 10% contained by 8:30 p.m. Air and ground resources will remain on scene overnight, building containment lines around the perimeter of the fire and continuing to drop water and retardant.
A second brush fire was reported in the Juniper Springs area of Riverside County at 12:20 p.m. Tuesday, according to Cal Fire Riverside. That blaze, dubbed the Verona fire, prompted evacuation orders in the community of Homeland. An evacuation center was opened at West Valley High School, at 3401 Mustang Way.
One firefighter and one civilian sustained minor injuries in the Verona fire and were transported to a hospital for treatment.
Forward spread on the blaze was halted shortly before 4 p.m. and some evacuation orders were downgraded to warnings, according to Cal Fire Riverside. The fire was mapped at 439 acres with 0% containment Tuesday evening, and crews will remain on scene throughout the night to establish and strengthen containment lines.
Meanwhile, in Los Angeles County, crews continued to combat the 1,698-acre Sandy fire, which ignited amid gusty winds in Simi Valley on Monday and burned four structures. That conflagration was 5% contained by Tuesday afternoon as weakening winds helped crews get a handle on the incident, according to Cal Fire.
The Santa Rosa Island fire also continued to burn within the Channel Islands National Park. That blaze was sparked by the flare of a stranded sailor on Friday and had scorched nearly 17,000 acres by Tuesday afternoon. Calming winds helped crews make progress on the island, where they achieved 26% containment by nightfall.