Quick Action by Fire Officials Prevents Spread of 11-Acre Blaze on County Border

Concerned about extremely dry conditions, fire officials sent 175 firefighters from three counties Sunday to battle an 11-acre brush fire on the Orange and Riverside County border.

“We sent everything we could out there real fast,” Riverside County Fire Department spokeswoman Joanne Evans said.

Two helicopters and two air tankers assisted ground crews, who fought the blaze with shovels, water hoses and three bulldozers.

While no homes or other structures were threatened, fire officials feared that dry brush, erratic winds and warm weather would combine to turn the brush fire into a major blaze, Evans said.

The California Highway Patrol said traffic was backed up on the Riverside Freeway during the height of the fire, and the Green River Road off-ramp was closed for two hours.

It was the fourth brush fire of the year along the freeway near Green River Road. Reported about 2:50 p.m., the fire easily could have burned a greater area had it not been for a decision to dispatch “everything we could,” Evans said.

“There was a great big column of smoke, and although there were not any homes or structures out there, it could have gotten real big,” Evans said. “It’s so dry out there, it’s terrible.”

In recent weeks, Southern California fire officials have complained about the effects of this year’s lack of rain on dry brush in remote areas.

Since last July 1, only 7.61 inches of rain have fallen in Orange County, compared to 17.86 inches during the same period in the previous year. The norm is just under 15 inches.

Fire fighters took about 2 1/2 hours to contain the blaze Sunday. They were dispatched from Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties and from the cities of San Bernardino and Norco. Firefighters from the state Department of Forestry and the U. S. National Forest Service in San Bernardino also were involved.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.