Brush fire breaks out in Riverside County’s Jurupa Valley, prompting evacuations

A brush fire ignited Thursday afternoon in Riverside County, spreading across 30 acres in two hours and prompting authorities to order some residents to evacuate.

The blaze, dubbed the Jurupa fire, was reported at 2:16 p.m. near Van Buren Boulevard and Jurupa Road in Jurupa Valley in northwestern Riverside County. The fire was initially burning a quarter of an acre in a wash-type area, said April Newman, a public information officer for the Riverside County Fire Department.

By 4 p.m., the fire had grown to about 30 acres, burning grass, weeds and other dry vegetation in the wash, Newman said.

Authorities have ordered residents to evacuate Felspar Street between 54th and 56th streets, and Pedley Road between 54th and 56th streets. An evacuation center has been established at Van Buren Elementary, 9501 Jurupa Road in Jurupa Valley.

There are not many homes near the wash where the fire is burning, Newman said, but the area is frequented by some homeless people and the Fire Department is trying to evacuate them.