If you're planning on hiking soon in Riverside County, you may want to hit up another spot. Cal Fire is closing some trails due to wildfire risk.
Thursday, April 30, 2026 7:51PMA small brush fire burned about four acres in the hills south of a Mead Valley neighborhood on Wednesday afternoon, underscoring concerns about wildfire risk as Cal Fire announced the closure of several popular hiking and off-roading trails across Riverside County.
Fire officials said the blaze did not threaten homes, aided by relatively mild temperatures and light winds. Still, authorities say the fire reflects the kind of incident they hope to prevent through proactive trail closures that take effect Friday. Cal Fire Riverside County Public Information Officer Jasmine Wood said the decision is driven by increasingly dangerous conditions on the ground.
According to Wood, trail closures are implemented every year based on areas considered to be at the highest risk for wildfire starts. - Steel Peak north of Lake Elsinore- Ramona Bowl south of Hemet The closures are intended to reduce the likelihood of human-caused fires, particularly those sparked by off-road vehicles in dry brush areas.
"In Riverside County we do have a lot of residents who love to go off-roading, myself included, and so that can cause a lot of wildfires to start in these areas, so the closure of these trails help... stop that," Wood said. Fire officials say off-roading activity can ignite vegetation through hot exhaust systems, sparks or mechanical failure, especially when fuel moisture levels are low.
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