Five injuries were reported in the Bain and Verona fires in Riverside County
A brush fire broke out in the Jurupa Valley on Tuesday, forcing evacuations and injuring four people as firefighters continued to battle the blaze amid dry and warm conditions in the Southland.
The Bain fire was reported at 11:22 a.m. near the Santa Ana River in the Mira Linda area. Fanned by strong winds, it quickly moved up nearby hills, burning about 900 acres by 5 p.m., according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Four residents were taken to the hospital for treatment, three with smoke inhalation and one with critical injuries, according to Capt. John Clingingsmith Jr., spokesman for the Cal Fire Riverside Unit. Evacuation orders have been issued for surrounding residential areas, and an evacuation center is open at the La Sierra Senior Center, 5215 La Sierra Ave.
At one point in the afternoon, firefighting aircraft were briefly grounded as three human drones were seen 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 aircraft. During the Palisades fire in January 2025, a drone punched a hole in the wing of a Super Scooper aircraft.
“When we see one plane in the area, let alone three or more, it takes some time to make sure that the airspace is clear and it’s safe for our plane to start flying again,” said Clingingsmith.
On Tuesday, it took about 15 minutes to get the planes back in the air, but Clingingsmith noted that even a short stop can have serious consequences.
“At the height of the wind, even 10 minutes can really change a fire,” he said.
One hundred firefighters were assigned to the Bain fire. As of 4:30 p.m., they were making solid progress in stopping the spread to the north, south, and most of the west side of the fire, while the east side continues to have more activity and growth potential, Clingingsmith said.
A second fire was reported in the Juniper Springs area of Riverside County at 12:20 p.m. Tuesday, according to Cal Fire Riverside. That fire, called the Verona fire, had grown to 175 hectares by 3:30 p.m., prompting evacuation orders for the Homeland community. An evacuation center was opened at West Valley High School, 3401 Mustang Way.
One firefighter and one unidentified person suffered minor injuries in the Verona fire and were taken to hospital for treatment.
The fire was contained just before 4 p.m. as firefighters worked to establish and reinforce containment lines and some evacuation orders were reduced to warnings, according to Cal Fire Riverside.
Meanwhile, in Los Angeles County, crews continued to battle the 1,698-acre Sandy fire, which broke out amid high winds in Simi Valley on Monday and burned four buildings. That fire was 5% contained by Tuesday afternoon as weak winds helped crews tackle the incident, according to Cal Fire.
The Santa Rosa Fire continued to burn on an uncharted island within the Channel Islands National Park. That fire was caused by a crew that was trapped on Friday and had burned about 17,000 hectares by Tuesday afternoon.
