INLAND EMPIRE, CA—Firefighters across the Inland Empire battled blazes on multiple fronts late Thursday as the 4th of July fireworks revelry lasted into the night. Hot, dry weather contributed to fires that ignited quickly amid dry brush, low humidity, and near-record heat.
According to the National Weather Service, a long-duration heat wave has settled over the Inland Empire and will last through next week. The NWS predicted Saturday was the hottest day, with highs 5 to 15 degrees above normal. Relative humidity has dropped to 10 to 15 percent, making the air tinder dry and inciting a Fire Weather watch, as the NWS forecasts extreme conditions for another week.
In the Inland Empire, the image of fireworks igniting beyond the smoke and glow of a brittle-dry field captured the difficulty firefighters face.
Just after 8:15 p.m. in San Bernardino, fireworks ignited a palm tree, sending it up in flames “like a Roman candle!” one commenter said of the captured on-camera scene.
“Fireworks start early around here,” Fire photographer @FirePhotoGirl wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “I can barely keep up.”
In Riverside County, blazes sparked from Cabazon to Coachella.
Just before 10 a.m., firefighters were dispatched to a burning single-wide mobile home in Cabazon. According to officials, the blaze was quelled just a half hour later, and the fire would be investigated.
Cal Fire said a fire burned 17 acres in Perris Thursday, igniting around noon, near the intersection of Goetz and Sotelo Roads. Air and ground resources battled the blaze, and no structures were damaged. The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
In Moreno Valley, a fire that began around 7 p.m. in a difficult-to-reach area near Nason Street and Dracaea Avenue bloomed from 7 to 60 acres overnight, a Cal Fire spokesperson said. The blaze reached full containment by 9 a.m. Friday morning.
In Coachella, a commercial building on Grapefruit Boulevard and 9th Street caught fire for unidentified reasons, a Cal Fire said. That building was well involved by 10:15 p.m., as firefighters arrived. Cal Fire managed to get that blaze under control in just over an hour, though they remained at the scene putting out hot spots.
Meanwhile, in places like Beaumont, the city opted for a different take on a citywide fireworks show, with a drone show instead. Hundreds gathered to see the view of colorful drones changing shapes and creating visuals filled with patriotic and civic pride.
