A fire that erupted Thursday, May 22 adjacent to a plastics manufacturing facility along the southern boundary of March Air Reserve Base in Perris damaged numerous vehicles and burned into an open field before it was stopped.
The non-injury blaze was reported just after 11 a.m. in the area of Harley Knox Boulevard and Patterson Avenue, just east of Interstate 215, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.
The agency said that multiple engine crews were sent to the location and encountered flames adjacent to the manufacturing plant, raging in a pile of plastic pipes, extending into a field and along the shoulder of Harley Knox within a one-block space.
Firefighters from the county were assisted by the March ARB Fire Brigade, along with personnel from the Riverside Fire Department and other agencies.
Sheriff’s deputies shut down both sides of Harley Knox, between I-215 and Oleander Avenue, for public safety.
No evacuations were ordered, though employees of surrounding businesses were asked to shelter in place, according to reports from the scene.
Initially, 50 vehicles were reported damaged by the flames, but that estimate was expected to be reduced, though the specific figure wasn’t immediately available early Thursday afternoon.
Three or four commercial structures were threatened as the flames spread into the field near Patterson, but firefighters stopped the blaze’s forward rate of spread at 11:55 a.m., by which time it was approaching full containment, according to officials.
Early indications were the fire may have been sparked by a malfunctioning electrical transformer. SoCal Edison technicians were summoned to the location to carry out an inspection and make repairs.
