Riverside County Fire Division Chief Tim Voigt delivered an after‑action report to the Jurupa Valley City Council on Oct. 16 about the Pyrite Fire, the Sept. 5 incident that threatened homes north of Highway 60.

Chief Voigt recounted the timeline, resource deployment and mutual‑aid operations used to fight the blaze. Firefighters received early 911 calls the evening of Sept. 5; the first arriving engine reported roughly 3 acres. The fire spread up a ridge and rapidly threatened homes, prompting requests for additional engines, aircraft and hand crews. County and state agencies moved into a unified command for several days.

Key facts presented to council:
- Officials reported the fire ultimately burned 551 acres, with evacuation orders issued for areas that included about 1,118 structures and roughly 5,000 people affected; evacuation warnings affected about 3,603 people. An evacuation shelter was established at Jurupa Valley High School.
- No civilian injuries or structure losses were reported. Three firefighters sustained non‑life‑threatening injuries and were treated at local hospitals.
- At the fire’s height, roughly 350 firefighters and mutual‑aid resources from multiple counties were on scene. Additional aircraft and specialized assets were deployed from across Southern California.

Voigt emphasized the value of Jurupa Valley’s wildland protection agreement (WPA) with CAL FIRE, which he described as “an insurance plan” that provides quicker access to state aircraft and other high-cost suppression resources. He told the council the WPA gives the city “a nexus to state assets” and can be more cost effective than paying for aircraft on a per‑incident basis.

“This agreement ensures a rapid CAL FIRE response,” Voigt said, and he noted it helped secure aircraft that limited the fire’s spread. The chief told the council the city’s WPA payment for the current year was approximately $391,000; he estimated the cost to suppress the Pyrite Fire at roughly $2 million.

Council members and residents asked about the fire’s origin; Voigt said investigators determined it was arson and a homeless‑caused fire was suspected, though no one remained in custody related to the incident.

The council thanked fire and partnering agencies and requested continued briefings on wildfire preparedness and incident-communications practices. Several residents and council members praised the interagency response and the use of intelligence tools (camera networks, infrared mapping) that helped incident commanders allocate resources.