Brush fire burns 140 acres near Perris as Riverside County firefighters work to quell flames

Riverside County firefighters battled a brush fire burning near Perris on Tuesday afternoon. 

The blaze, which was dubbed the Rider Fire by firefighters, was reported at around 1:30 p.m. near Rider Street in the Mead Valley area, according to Cal Fire. 

Initially, the fire was reported to be about 10 acres, but by 5:30 p.m. it had grown to engulf 140 acres of brush and was 5% contained. As of 3 p.m., Cal Fire officials said that crews were making good progress on the flanks of the fire and an hour later they said that the forward rate of spread had been stopped.

"Numerous firefighting air tankers from throughout the state are flying fire suppression missions as conditions allow," firefighters said. 

Nearly 150 firefighters and two dozen fire engines were assigned to the incident.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. No injuries have been reported and it's unclear if the flames have threatened any structures.

Road closures

As they continued to battle the flames, firefighters closed several roads to the public to allow easy access for firefighting apparatus. Closed roads included:

• Harvill Avenue and Placentia Avenue
• Rider Street and Patterson Avenue
• Cajalco Road and Seaton Avenue