Two new fires have started in Riverside County amid Santa Ana winds, sparking new evacuations in Southern California.
The Scout fire is burning near Mission Boulevard and Crestmore Road in Jurupa Valley and the second fire is burning in Hemet near Warren Road and Esplanade Avenue, Riverside County fire officials said.
The Scout fire had burned two acres as of 1 p.m. and has the potential to burn five, according to Riverside City Fire Department Division Chief Michael Staley. The blaze first sparked around 12:03 p.m. in the Santa Ana river bottom.
No structures were threatened and 13 units were deployed to fight the fire, Staley said. They were also conducting water drops from helicopters above. The fire still wasn’t contained as of 1:15 p.m.
An evacuation order was issued for Mount Rubidoux Park, a mountain just west of downtown Riverside. Riverside Community Hospital is about half a mile southeast of the park and the historic Mission Inn Hotel is about four-fifths of a mile away.
The Stone fire that burned in Hemet was contained around 1:10 p.m. and had sparked around noon, according to Hemet fire officials.