Firefighters contain brush fire burning near homes in Jurupa Valley jurupa valley fire

 

Firefighters have gained the upper hand on a brush fire that was burning close to homes in Jurupa Valley near the Santa Ana Riverbed on Monday.

The Clay Fire was first reported near Clay Street and Van Buren Boulevard at around 4:45 p.m. and was quickly upgraded to a Third Alarm fire by Riverside County Fire Department crews arriving on scene. 

Just after 5:30 p.m., an evacuation warning was issued for residents living north of Jurupa Avenue, south of Pedley Road, east of Crest Avenue and west of Van Buren Boulevard in zone RIV-0182-B. It has since been lifted.

It's unclear what sparked the flames, but with a helicopter overhead, Riverside Fire and Riverside County Fire Department crews could be seen cutting vegetation in the area while a bulldozer drove over previously burnt ground. 

By 7:45 p.m., crews reported that they had about 50% containment on the fire.