A brush fire erupted near the intersection of North Riverside Avenue and Sierra Avenue in Fontana Tuesday night and threatened homes on the border of Fontana and Rialto as it grew rapidly.
San Bernardino County Fire Department Public Information Officer Eric Sherwin told NBC4 that the fire was first reported at approximately 9:30 p.m.
The SBCFD's official Twitter account labeled the vegetation fire as the "Sierra Fire" and recorded the flames at 2-3 acres at 10:03 p.m. Only 15 minutes later, the fire had grown to 20 acres.
The Sierra Fire was predominantly burning alongside North Riverside Avenue between Sierra Avenue and North Adler Avenue, but high winds assisted in spreading the flames, with embers clearly visibly flying into the bordering neighborhoods.
The embers spread and quickly lit up a fence and a tree. Firefighters were on scene to put out hot spots, but the winds posed a major threat.
As of 11:45 p.m., firefighters were holding the fire at 20 acres and no mandatory evacuations were ordered.
Overnight, the fire grew to 147 acres as of 6 a.m. and crews will remain on the ground to reinforce containment lines.
