Children Blamed in 2 Norco Fires

At least two of three fires in Norco Monday night were started by children, acting Chief Patrick Murphy said Tuesday.

“It’s ironic that we have children playing with matches just two days after Fire Prevention Week, and during such hazardous fire weather,” Murphy said.

The first fire was confined to a 400-square-foot area in the Santa Ana River bottom on the city’s west side, Murphy said. It was started by 10-year-old children playing with matches.

While firefighters were still working in the river bottom, a second grass fire was reported at 3rd Street and Hillside Avenue in southeastern Norco. The cause of that blaze, which consumed two acres, was not known Tuesday.

A third fire burned a barn wall on Roundup Road, in western Norco, causing $200 damage, Murphy said. Teen-agers were blamed for that fire, Murphy said.