Train car burglarized and set on fire during heist in Riverside

A train car was burglarized and set on fire in Riverside during the latest in a string of heists in the Inland Empire.

"It occurs more often than people realize, and unfortunately, a lot of times, it's very high-dollar items," said Lt. Dierdre Vickers from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

Firefighters responded to the train car that burglars set on fire and raided at around 4:40 a.m. Thursday near Spruce and Columbia. 

"That one presented a unique complexity of challenges, and such as masking access to the rail cars across other moving rail lines," Riverside Fire Department Captain Paul Seawright said. 

BNSF said the train was traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago. 

"These are not victimless crimes, particularly when many of these packages include much-needed medicine, food and critical supplies necessary for everyday life," BNSF said in a statement. 

Vickers said burglars have targeted trains more often recently. 

"Typically, vehicles either drive up to the trains and then we have the suspects who are able to climb onto the trains and throw items from the trains," Vickers said. "They're able to break the locks and get inside of the cargo."

In just the last month, five people were arrested after opening fire on railroad police during a train heist in the Cajon Pass. In June, a lithium-ion fire during a train burglary closed surrounding roads for a short time. 

"We believe it's definitely bigger than what people realize," Vickers said.