Crews are battling a four-alarm fire at a pallet yard in Riverside as windy conditions make for a difficult firefight.
The blaze was reported at about 3:30 p.m. at a fence business on Main Street between Bartlett Avenue and Garner Road then spread to a pallet yard. At the scene, multiple pallets were fully engulfed in flames for reasons still under investigation. As a result of the firefight, Main Street has been shut down until further notice.
“The conditions are very arduous for our firefighters; the prevailing winds, the high heat,” said Riverside City Fire Department Capt. Paul Seawright.
The pallet fire is causing concerns of spreading because of the windy conditions. This video was broadcast during the NBC4 News at 4 p.m. on Monday, March 16, 2026.
NewsChopper4 was over the scene, where flames and large plumes of smoke were seen coming from the scene. Flames swelled into a nearby field, causing more difficulty for crews.
“The complexity of the incident was high on this, with it starting from one local building, spreading to the developing structures around that, such as the pallets and then the grass field, the vegetation,” Seawright said. “Our focus right now is on the vegetation field and constructing a perimeter.”
It’s unclear what sparked the fire. First responders have not said if any injuries were reported in connection with the incident.