UPDATED: Blaze destroys Homeland structure
UPDATE: 08/15/2016 10:15 a.m. With information from Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department
Written by Trevor Montgomery
With William Hayes
The fire caused the temporary closure of SR 74, while fire personnel worked to extinguish the fire. William Hayes photo
HOMELAND – Despite the efforts of Cal Fire/Riverside County Firefighters, an abandoned building burned to the ground Sunday, August 14.
The building was located on the corner of SR 74 and Cortrite Avenue on the border of the unincorporated communities of Homeland and Green Acres.
Riverside County emergency dispatchers began receiving several 911 calls regarding the fire at about 9:43 p.m.
22 firefighters from five Engine Companies and one Truck Company responded to the blaze, according to Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Public Information Officer Jennifer Fuhrman.
The first arriving engine company reported an abandoned building that was fully engulfed in fire. Power lines above the structure had caught fire but did not pose an immediate threat to citizens or emergency crews.
Several Engine Companies responded to the blaze. William Hayes photo
Highway 74 was temporarily closed to through traffic while firefighters aggressively attacked the out of control blaze. Firefighters quickly controlled the fire, which was reportedly knocked down at just after 10 p.m. However, the structure was considered a total loss.
Fire officials estimated the loss at about $5,000.
No public or firefighters were reported injured from the fire.
The cause of the fire is unknown at this time and is under investigation.
Anyone with information regarding this fire is encouraged to contact Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire officials Callers can refer to incident file number CA-RRU-98581 and can remain anonymous.
A firefighter sprays water onto the burning structure. William Hayes photo
The structure, which was determined to be abandoned, was a total loss. William Hayes photo
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I know the one building, in recent years, was looking bad. Could have been a serious fire.
Somebody recently purchased that property. Kinda odd it’s been there last 30 years I’ve been around untouched and all of a sudden it burned down!
I doubt for 5 grand they would do that. There has been a series of arson in that area.
Considering all the arsons in the Homeland area, arson would be my best guess. They did arrest a transient for three of the arsons, but there have been many, many more in that general area.