A brush fire that broke out Tuesday in the Santa Ana River bottom in Riverside scorched roughly two acres amid mild Santa Ana winds before it was stopped.
The non-injury blaze was reported at 12:03 p.m. Tuesday in the area of Mission Inn Avenue and Indian Hill Road, according to the Riverside Fire Department.
The agency said multiple city and Riverside County Fire Department engine and hand crews were sent to the location and encountered flames moving at a moderate rate to the southeast.
Riverside police officers shut down Mission Inn between Indian Hill and Redwood Drive for public safety and to provide space for firefighters to maneuver. The roadway was partially reopened at 1:20 p.m.
No homes were threatened, and no evacuation warnings were issued.
A Cal Fire water-dropping helicopter was summoned to make drops on the brusher.
At 1:06 p.m., firefighters halted the fire's forward rate of spread and established hose lays on one side of the brusher, but full containment was not expected until after 2 p.m., according to reports from the scene.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known. The river bottom is rife with homeless encampments, and cooking, warming and debris fires are common year-round.