Firefighters in Riverside County strengthened containment around a pair of wildfires that have been burning since Tuesday, May 19, while crews in Ventura County did the same with the Sandy fire in Simi Valley, according to Cal Fire.
The causes of both Riverside County fires were under investigation.
Bain fire
Crews in Riverside County upped containment of the Bain fire to 81% by Friday evening, May 22, authorities said. The fire had rolled through 1,497 acres.
The fire was first reported about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 19, and quickly grew to more than 1,300 acres, officials said. It has grown minimally since.
Four civilian injuries and one firefighter injury have been reported during the Bain fire, which started near Limonite Avenue and Bain Street in Jurupa Valley.
Verona fire
Containment of the Verona fire grew to 67% by Friday evening, May 22, according to Cal Fire.
The Verona fire, burning in unincorporated Riverside County near Homeland and Hemet, had burned 648 acres since Tuesday afternoon, May 19, when it was first reported on a hillside near Verona Road and Juniper Springs Road north of Highway 74.
It initially destroyed outbuildings and threatened homes, prompting evacuations, including at a gated retirement community before firefighters got a good handle on the blaze.
Sandy fire
In Simi Valley, Ventura County firefighters had containment of the Sandy fire at 61% by Friday evening, May 22, according to Cal Fire, despite another jump in charred acreage to 2,183 acres.
“Firefighters made good progress overnight with very minimal fire activity reported across the incident,” said a morning update by Cal Fire. “Crews will continue working today to build and strengthen containment lines.”
The Sandy fire has been burning in the foothills on the south side of Simi Valley since before 11 a.m. Monday, May 18.
The cause of the fire was under investigation, although the Simi Valley police received a call from the driver of a tractor who said he hit a rock, causing a spark that started a brush fire.
Residents scrambled on Monday to put water on homes in the Bridle Path community before evacuating, but a wind shift later in the day pushed the fire in the opposite direction.
One home was destroyed by the fire and no injury had been reported. That house was the Byles’.
Randy Byle said a doorbell alert warned him about the blaze via his phone while he was out, so he called his wife, Beth, so she would evacuate with their parrot and some belongings.
He then returned to their home of 40 years.
“It was so smoky. … It was really bad,” he told KABC 7. “That’s why I didn’t know she wasn’t here. I told the fireman she might be in there, I don’t know. And then I tried calling and I found out she was away. …
“She’s safe,” he told the station. “That’s all I was thinking about. That was the main thing. That’s what I wanted. Again, it’s just stuff.”
