Evacuation orders lifted in Jurupa Valley fire

Evacuation orders were lifted Monday night as officials made progress battling a vegetation fire in Riverside County’s Jurupa Valley.

The fire was reported at 11:08 a.m. in the Santa Ana River bottom near Lakeview Avenue at Pedley Road, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the Riverside County Fire Department said on Twitter.

As of 9 p.m., forward progress of the 150-acre fire had been stopped. It was initially reported to have grown to 200 acres, but the acreage shrunk after officials remapped the perimeter.

Evacuation orders that had been issued were turned into warnings. The department had ordered evacuations for homes south of Limonite Avenue, west of Avenue Juan Diaz, north of the river bottom and east of Downey Street.

An evacuation warning was also issued for the area north of the river bottom between Van Buren Boulevard and Downey Street. A second evacuation warning zone encompasses the area north of Jurupa Avenue, west of Fremont Street and east of Van Buren Boulevard. Officials previously mistakenly said that the area was under an evacuation order.

An evacuation center has been opened at Patriot High School at 4355 Camino Real.

Although brush fires are a regular occurrence in her neighborhood, Amber Dohoney said they’re always a cause of concern because of her children, dogs and horses. She was on her way to go grocery shopping Monday morning when she saw firefighters and police driving toward the fire.

“It was a little unnerving to leave my house but I decided to go and as soon as I got back, our streets were shut down,” she said.

The Corona Fire Department and Murrieta Fire and Rescue were also in the area assisting Cal Fire and the Riverside County Fire Department.

It was not immediately clear how the fire began, and its cause is under investigation, said Rob Roseen, a public information officer for the Riverside County Fire Department.