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Brush fire burning near downtown Riverside blankets neighborhood in smoke

The fire was reported at 11:15 a.m. in the area of Mission Inn Avenue and the Santa Ana river bottom, fueled by 30 mph winds. (OnSCENE.TV)

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Firefighters, air tankers and helicopters were fighting a brush fire burning in the Santa Ana river bottom near downtown Riverside Thursday afternoon.

The fire began about noon Thursday and began burning within

dense vegetation in the riverbed. Nearby hillsides and homes were at risk, fire officials said.

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Silvio Lanzas, a division chief for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in Riverside County, told ABC 7 the fire had grown to about 35 acres.

A plume of smoke could be seen over Riverside but it had started to dissipate as helicopters and airplanes made water and fire retardant drops early in the afternoon.

Some homes near Indian Hill Road were being evacuated. The fire is near Mount Rubidoux Park, officials said.

Firefighting efforts will be complicated later in the afternoon, when winds are expected to pick up about 3 p.m., with gusts reaching 30 mph, said Capt. Tyler Reynolds of the Riverside Fire Department.

“It is going to be very dangerous with possible spot fires and embers getting pushed by these winds,” Reynolds told NBC 4.

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UPDATES:

1:20 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from Cal Fire’s Lanzas.

This article was originally published at 12:45 p.m.

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