Mann fire in Norco slows, evacuations lifted or downgraded to warnings
Five hundred homes — and some 1,500 people — were threatened Tuesday, March 3 by the wind-driven Mann fire that broke out along the Santa Ana River bottom in Norco and grew to 175 acres.
Evacuations called at the height of the blaze by Tuesday evening were lifted or downgraded to evacuation warnings.
Evacuations that were put in place west of California Avenue and north of 8th Street were lifted at 6:45 p.m., and evacuation orders that were put in place north of North Drive and east of California Avenue were adjusted to evacuation warnings, the Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department said in an update at 6:45 p.m.
More than 200 firefighters fought the fast-moving blaze. Cal Fire/Riverside County Capt. Fernando Herrera said the fire had stopped spreading by early evening, but firefighters would remain at the site for at least two days to patrol for hot spots.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation, Herrera said.
Expand
The Mann fire was reported at 9:51 a.m. near California Avenue and Grulla Court, just east of the river, and grew quickly as winds pushed it to 100 acres by early afternoon.
The blaze was 20% contained and 175 acres, with forward progress stopped around 3:30 p.m., fire officials said.
No home losses were reported, but five properties had minor damage to fences or outbuildings, Cal Fire/Riverside County reported.
Two civilians suffered from smoke inhalation, but did not have to be hospitalized, Herrera said. Outside the fire zone, a homeowner was injured when he fell from a ladder as he was hosing down his roof, he added.
Herrera said earlier Tuesday that the wind had slowed, and that in turn had weakened the advance of the fire.
The evacuations that were ordered just before noon included horses in a community known for equestrian properties and trails. Nearby Riverview Elementary School also was evacuated.
Chuck Conrad said he and his wife were first alerted to the fire when their horse became skittish.
They took their horse, Rosie, to the George Ingalls Event Center, which has a facility to board horses.
Conrad, 70, who has lived on Viceroy Avenue for 30 years, said, “as soon as they said ‘mandatory evacuation,’ we were out.”
Southern California Edison reported a fire-caused power outage for more than 4,100 customers in the Norco area reported shortly after 10 a.m. By early evening, all but about four customers had power restored.
At least three helicopters fought the fire along with personnel on the ground.
The Jurupa Valley Unified School District said several of its schools were put on an “inclement weather schedule” due to smoke from the fire.
Norco High School in Norco and Roosevelt High School in Eastvale both said outdoor sports were canceled for the day.
#MannFire [UPDATE] – Update 03/02/20 6:45 P.M. Evacuations west of California Ave. and north of 8th Street have been lifted. Evacuation ORDERS, north of North Drive and east of California Avenue have been downgraded to an EVACUATION WARNING.
— CAL FIRE Riverside (@CALFIRERRU) March 4, 2020
Students from Riverview Elementary, which was evacuated as a precaution, were taken to Norco High School, said Corona-Norco Unified School District spokeswoman Evita Tapia-Gonzalez said.
A camera mounted in Newport Beach — part of the HPWREN project at the UC San Diego and the National Science Foundation — caught the beginning of the fire in the distance.
The area was under a National Weather Service high wind warning for northeasterly winds at the time the fire broke out.