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MONDAY, MAY 13- MAY 19, 2024
VISIT CORONANEWSPRESS.COM
VOL. 8,
NO. 171
2 fires char over 75 acres in Cabazon; blazes damage homes, burn Santa Ana River bottom
Riverside County board OKs $11.8M contract with heavy equipment repair company
By Staff and City News Service
By City News Service
F
ire season in the Inland Empire may have unofficially started last week with two brushers in Cabazon last week that burned 76 acres. The first blaze was reported shortly after 2 p.m. Tuesday in the area of Apache Trail and Bonita Avenue, while the second broke out about 6:30 p.m. near the intersection of Almond Street and Esperanza Avenue, according to the Riverside County Fire Department. The fires were just over two miles apart. The fire at Apache Trail was fully contained at 36 acres before 1 p.m. Wednesday, and crews were mopping up late in the afternoon. The fire department said a combined 36 engine crews and 11 hand crews, numbering more than 300 personnel, were sent to the locations, encountering flames burning at rapid rates through medium brush at the peak of the fires. Cal Fire air tankers and water-dropping helicopters made runs on the fires, neither of which prompted evacuations. The drops slowed the fires down, enabling crews to begin encircling them. The fire along Esperanza was fully contained early Thursday, holding at 40 acres, officials said. Multiple agencies from the region were providing mutual aid, including the Morongo and Calimesa fire departments, as well as the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. The fires’ causes were under investigation. Blaze causes major damage to South Riverside home, displacing occupants A fire that erupted Thursday in a South Riverside house caused extensive damage, displacing the four
Firefighters fight flames shooting out of the South Riverside home’s garage. | Photo courtesy of the Riverside Fire Department/Facebook
occupants, all of whom escaped injury. The blaze was reported at 4:25 p.m. at 8475 Yarrow Lane, near Orangecrest Parkway, in the Orangecrest neighborhood, according to the Riverside Fire Department. Battalion Chief Brian Guzzetta said three engine crews and a truck company, numbering more than a dozen personnel, were sent to the location and encountered flames extending from the attached garage into the upper floor of the two-story residence. Firefighters stopped the flames from spreading to adjacent properties and fully contained them at 4:40 p.m., according to officials at the scene. Damage to the house was significant, collapsing the roof of the garage, officials said. Crews were mopping up
by 5 p.m. Red Cross volunteers were requested to assist the four adults living at the home with finding temporary alternate lodgings. The cause of the fire was under investigation. Brush fire breaks out in Santa Ana River bottom A brush fire erupted Tuesday in the Santa Ana River bottom in Jurupa Valley, burning in thick vegetation that posed difficulties for fire crews and scorching about a quarter-acre before they reached it. The non-injury blaze was reported at 4:20 p.m. in the area of Ridgeview and Limonite avenues, according to the Riverside County Fire Department. The agency said multiple engine crews from the county and city of Riverside were sent to the location, encountering flames deep in brush, propelled by light
winds out of the southwest. A Cal Fire water-dropping helicopter was requested to make runs on the brusher. No homes or other structures were immediately threatened. As of 4:45 p.m., firefighters were making access to the blaze and trying to establish containment lines. There was no immediate word on how it might have started. Homeless encampments are spread throughout the river bottom, and cooking, warming and debris fires are common yearround. Fire damages home on north end of Perris A fire that erupted May 6 in a house on the north end of Perris caused significant damage and extended into grass beyond the structure but was quickly contained. The non-injury blaze was reported at 12:55 p.m. at 922 Seymour Way, across from Sinclair Street, less than a mile west of the Lake Perris State Recreation Area, according to the Riverside County Fire Department. The agency said that multiple engine and truck crews were sent to the location and encountered flames toward the rear of the single-story residence, extending into grass and other vegetation. Firefighters quickly formed a perimeter around the property, preventing the flames from spreading, according to reports from the scene. The blaze was completely contained in and out of the house at 1:25 p.m. Red Cross personnel were requested to assist occupants of the home with finding temporary alternate lodgings, but it was unclear how many were living there. The cause of the fire was under investigation.
A Caterpillar bulldozer. | Photo courtesy of High Contrast/ Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)
T
he Board of Supervisors Tuesday signed off on a Riverside County Department of Purchasing and Fleet Services’ agreement with a heavy equipment repair service to work on vehicles from several agencies at a potential total cost of $11.88 million over the next five years. The contract with Riverside-based Quinn Co. was approved in a 5-0 vote that was preceded by a brief inquiry from Supervisor Karen Spiegel, who questioned why, out of 87 prospective vendors deemed qualified to perform the work, “there was only one response?” A Department of Purchasing and Fleet Services official told Spiegel that the work fell into the “specialty” category, and it was likely that most of the vendors did not feel capable of handling repairs and reconditioning of parts belonging to Caterpillar tractors and similar vehicles. “Quinn Company is able to perform the ... service on all Caterpillar and additional brands of equipment currently used by participating department fleets,” according to an agency statement. “Quinn’s proximity to the participating departments’ locations allows for a quicker turnaround time and less down time for heavy field equipment.” The company’s technicians are also available to travel and make on-site repairs. The Riverside County Fire Department, Transportation and Land Management Agency and Waste Resources Department will all utilize Quinn’s services, officials said. The latter agency will be the predominant user. The agreement runs from the current fiscal year to the end of 2028-29. Estimates provided by the Department of Purchasing and Fleet Services indicated costs will generally run around $2.16 million each year. Each department will be responsible for paying the cost of repairs out of its individual budget allotment, with no planned use of General Fund money.