Crews Tackle Reche Canyon Brush Fire

RECHE CANYON, CA — A brush fire that erupted Monday north of Moreno Valley burned roughly four acres before it was stopped.

The non-injury blaze was reported about 1:50 p.m. in the 7800 block of Reche Canyon Road, south of Center Street, near the boundary separating Riverside and San Bernardino counties, according to Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department.

Agency officials said multiple engine and hand crews from both jurisdictions were sent to the location and encountered flames moving at a moderate rate through a field.

No homes or other structures were threatened as two Cal Fire air tankers and a water-dropping helicopter initiated runs on the brusher, slowing its advance and enabling crews to stop the forward rate of spread shortly after 3 p.m., according to reports from the scene.

California Highway Patrol officers shut down both the north- and southbound lanes of Reche Canyon between Reche Vista and the beginning of Reche Canyon — less than a half-mile — for public safety.

The closure was expected to be lifted by 4:30 p.m.

Crews were expected to fully contain the blaze by that time.

The cause of the fire was under investigation.