Firefighting efforts at the Bain fire in Riverside County were temporarily disrupted on Tuesday when at least three drones were spotted in the area, forcing firefighters to ground their aircraft.
According to Capt. John Clingingsmith with CAL FIRE/Riverside County, the aircraft were grounded for about a half-hour in total, each time for approximately 10 minutes, due to the drone intrusions. The Bain fire, which started on Tuesday, has burned 1,375 acres with 25% containment as of Wednesday morning.
The blaze began in the Santa Ana River bottom near Riverside and quickly spread, leading to mandatory evacuations in Jurupa Valley and Riverside. Four civilians were hospitalized, three for smoke inhalation and one for traumatic injuries. Firefighters from Riverside and San Bernardino counties, totaling more than 100 personnel, have been deployed to combat the fire, which threatens homes and structures in the area…