Robert Fish, a Cal Fire firefighter for 34 years, is slated to be appointed to take the helm at the Riverside County Fire Department, assuming the position held for more than five years by Chief Bill Weiser.

Weiser is due to officially retire on Dec. 31. Counting his time as a volunteer fireman, Weiser has been with Cal Fire since 1981.

“Robert Fish … most recently served as deputy chief over East County Operations,” according to a statement posted to the board’s agenda for Tuesday. “His leadership record demonstrates a strong commitment to firefighter safety, community partnerships and interagency collaboration.”

Fish has managed operations spanning the entire county region from Beaumont to Blythe, supervising Cal Fire operations in 10 of the 19 municipalities that contract with the county for emergency services. The county has contracted with Cal Fire for fire protection services since the 1940s.

Fish was selected based on vetting handled by a committee composed of two board members, as well as officials from the Executive Office and Cal Fire.

Weiser replaced Shawn Newman as fire chief in August 2020. During the chief’s watch, several fire stations have been constructed and renovated. However, the county fire department’s budget has also grown in that time, though by working with the Executive Office, cost overruns have been held in check.

The post Here’s Who’s Expected To Replace The Retiring Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Chief appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

The crash was reported at 3:17 p.m. Sunday in the 44000 block of Lately Circle in Hemet, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.

The driver and sole occupant was trapped inside the vehicle and was extricated by firefighters before being taken to a hospital, according to the department. Three occupants of the home were also hospitalized. Their injuries were considered minor to moderate.

The home sustained major damage and a total of seven people were displaced, according to the department. The American Red Cross was requested to assist them.

No other information was immediately available.

The post 4 Injured When Car Crashes Into RivCo Home appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

All evacuation warnings for the Clay Fire were lifted, and residents were told they could return home, but to be advised that firefighters would remain in the area much of the day.

At 4:45 p.m. Tuesday, the blaze ignited in the Santa Ana Riverbed, according to Cal Fire. The blaze burned toward homes, driven by offshore winds gusting through the Jurupa Valley area. Overnight, fire crews gained more traction in containing the blaze known as the Clay Fire.

Multiple engine and ladder crews from the Riverside County and Riverside fire departments were sent to the location. Firefighters found flames burning toward a residential area along Bradford Street as winds weakened, they said.

A third alarm was declared as the fire moved closer to the Bradford homes a short time later, and the neighborhood was briefly placed under an evacuation warning.

Dozer and hand crews worked overnight to build containment lines and conduct mop-up operations, fire officials said. Cal Fire officials said 23 engines and eight hand crews would continue their work at the location Wednesday.

The cause of the fire wasn’t immediately known. However, the river bottom is rife with homeless encampments.

The post Jurupa Valley Brush Fire Near Riverside Now 40 Percent Contained appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

A wildfire that broke out in Riverside County grew to nearly 40 acres by Tuesday night, triggering evacuation warnings that have since been lifted.

The fire, named the Clay Fire, burned 38 acres and was 45% contained as of Wednesday morning, according to a Cal Fire and Riverside County Fire Department spokesperson.

Forward progress of the fire was stopped by Tuesday night, according to a Cal Fire incident report.

It was one of several fires that ignited Tuesday, including the 85-acre Lilac Fire in San Diego County.

Parts of Southern California, including Riverside County valleys and mountains, are under a red flag warning through Thursday evening due to strong winds and “very low” relative humidity, meaning that fires that break out in the regions under the warning can spread rapidly, according to the National Weather Service San Diego.

Here’s an overview of the Clay Fire as of Wednesday morning.

Where is the Clay Fire?

The Clay Fire broke out at the Santa Ana River bottom near Pedley Road and Van Buren Boulevard in Jurupa Valley, according to Cal Fire. Jurupa Valley is in Riverside County’s northwest region and neighbors the city of Riverside. Jurupa Valley is about a 20-mile drive, route dependent, from San Bernardino, according to Google Maps. According to a Cal Fire incident update, approximately a third of the acres burned is within Riverside.

When did the Clay Fire begin?

Firefighters were on scene at a vegetation fire reported at 5 p.m. Tuesday in Jurupa Valley, according to Cal Fire and Riverside County Fire Department’s post on X. The fire was “in heavy fuels and burning at a slow rate of spread.”

The post Clay Fire that broke out in Riverside County on Tuesday is 45% contained. Where did it start? appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

The blaze was first reported in the area of Tule Valley Road and Richard Nixon Boulevard in Aguanga just before 12:30 p.m. on Monday. One residential structure has been destroyed and four other structures have been damaged.

The following mandatory evacuation orders were still in place as of Friday:

• North of Cooper Cienega Trail 
• South of Bailey Road 
• East of Holly Ann 
• West of Terwilliger Road 

The following evacuation warnings were still in place as of Friday:

• North of San Diego/Riverside County line 
• South of Heller Springs Road 
• East of Terwilliger Road 
• West of Table Mountain Truck Trail 

The evacuation center beginning on Friday will be located at Hamilton High School in Anza.

On Friday morning the Riverside County Fire Department said that overnight work by crews has kept the blaze within its existing perimeter, preventing further spreading. Weather conditions over the weekend, the department warned, could bring increased fire concerns as monsoonal winds and possible lightning strikes could aggravate the blaze.

The post Riverside County ‘Nixon Fire’ eclipses 5,200 acres burned appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

The “hiker down” call was received about 1:50 p.m. in the area of Thomas Road and the Ramona Trail, just west of Highway 74, according to Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department.

The agency said that several engine crews from the county, as well as U.S. Forest Service rangers and a medic unit from the Idyllwild Fire Protection District, were sent to the location.

The first responders ultimately found the young man, whose identity was not disclosed, a half-mile from a trailhead, unable to walk out under his own power due to possible dehydration and other factors. He had momentarily lost consciousness after collapsing, according to reports from the scene.

Firefighters were able to place the victim on an ATV or other vehicle and transport him to an ambulance waiting at the Lake Hemet Campground, roughly a mile away.

There was an initial call for a Mercy Air ambulance, but that was cancelled.

Shortly before 3 p.m., the victim was taken via the highway to Eisenhower Health in Rancho Mirage for treatment.

The post 23-Year-Old Hiker Suffers Apparent Heat Exhaustion In Local Mountains appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

MURRIETA, CA — More than $11,000 has been raised for a Southern California family hit last week by a terrible accident in Murrieta.

“On May 10, Jimmy and some friends went mountain biking in Murrieta. It was a trail they had been on before, and despite being an avid mountain biker, Jimmy took a fall that ended up being catastrophic,” reads a GoFundMe page established for the family of Jimmy Francis. “He was airlifted to the closest hospital with a trauma center. He is currently in the ICU and is expected to have a recovery that will prohibit his movement for quite a while. Jimmy is a veteran, a Cub Scout leader and a local chef, on top of being a dedicated husband and father. He has two beautiful children and is very involved in their daily lives.”

As a chef at his San Diego-based company, Flights by Jimmy, Francis offers his cooking services for dinner parties and brunches.

Just after 12 p.m. Friday, multiple agencies helped rescue the injured mountain biker from a remote Murrieta trail in the hills abutted by Keller Road and Scenic View Drive, just west of Interstate 215. The area is near the Greer Ranch Trailhead, a popular destination for mountain bikers and hikers.

According to Murrieta Fire & Rescue, the injured rider had to be hoisted from the area by a Riverside County Sheriff’s helicopter. The rider was then transferred to an awaiting AMR ambulance and driven to a nearby hospital. The patient was in stable condition, MF&R spokesperson Dawn Morrison said.

In addition to Murrieta Fire & Rescue and the sheriff’s department, Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department was also called to the incident.

According to the GoFundMe page, the money raised for the Francis family will help pay for assistance during Jimmy’s recovery period.

The post SoCal Rallies For Mountain Biker Seriously Injured In Murrieta Crash appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

The incident occurred around 11 p.m. Monday on Indian Street near Ironwood Avenue, according to the Riverside County Fire Department. Video from the scene showed the SUV on top of a pick-up truck and wedged inside the garage.

Firefighters were able to rescue a man from inside the SUV, but a woman in the vehicle did not survive. She has not been identified.

It’s not clear who was driving.

Mary Helen Navarro was inside the home when it happened. She said she’s thankful her family wasn’t hurt.

“I’m grateful that it wasn’t us and sad that it was them, really. My condolences go out to their family,” Navarro said.

She said three of their vehicles were damaged, two of them totaled, but they may have saved her life.

The trucks in the driveway and in the garage stopped the airborne SUV from going further into the house.

Riverside County Sheriff’s Department | Contributed

Find your latest news here at the Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle

The post 1 dead, another injured after driver crashes into house in Moreno Valley appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

Multiple engine crews were sent to the location and encountered flames raging inside the residence, with a column of smoke visible from Interstate 215 to the east, officials said.

Firefighters prevented the blaze from spreading to properties immediately adjacent to the doublewide, according to reports from the scene. The fire was fully contained at 4:10 p.m.It was unclear whether the property had been occupied.  The cause of the fire was under investigation.

Search: Blaze Destroys Doublewide

Visit local news at HSJC

The post Blaze Destroys Doublewide in Menifee appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

Fire Chief Scott Brown said Simpson Park, just east of Diamond Valley Lake, will be closed Monday and will not re-open until fire threats are minimal. “The Fire Department remains committed to keeping the community safe from the threat of wildfire”, Brown said.

The chief said his closure move dovetails with Riverside County Fire Chief Shawn Newman’s decision to declare seven recreational locations off limits to hikers, off-roading enthusiasts and others starting Monday and continuing until wildfire season ends, which is generally November.

Newman received authorization from the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday to close the grounds, which has occurred yearly since 2007. The following locations fall under the county’s closure order:

— Avery Canyon, along Gibbel Road, east of State Street in southeast Hemet;
— Indian Canyon and North Mountain in San Jacinto;
— Minto Way in Sage, north of Aguanga;
— Nuevo, east of Menifee Road and San Jacinto Avenue;
— Ramona Bowl and Bautista Canyon, southeast of Hemet;
— Reinhardt Canyon, north of state Route 74 and California Avenue in Hemet;
— Whitewater Canyon, near Cabazon.

The Ramona Bowl is just over a mile north of Simpson Park. Each spot is surrounded by rugged, inhospitable terrain. Closure signs will be posted at entry points to warn potential violators of fines and other penalties.

The post Park Closure appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.