Three teenagers have been charged in connection with a destructive fire in Riverside that authorities say was caused by fireworks.
The Hawarden fire burned 600 acres, destroyed seven homes and damaged 18 others. On the day the fire began — July 21 — temperatures soared above 100 degrees and winds gusted 27 mph, quickly spreading the flames.
The fire caused “immeasurable levels of fear” among residents “rightly afraid for their safety,” Riverside Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson said at a news conference Thursday in announcing the charges against the three.
“All fireworks are illegal in the city of Riverside for a reason,” she said.
Surveillance video showed three individuals lighting the fireworks that started the brush fire, according to Riverside Police Chief Larry Gonzalez. They lighted the fireworks in an open field and then fled the scene in a silver pickup truck, he said.
The county on Thursday filed 27 charges of “willful and malicious fire setting” against the three juveniles — all 16-year-olds whom police did not identify because of their ages — Gonzalez said. Two of the three have been arrested.
The Hawarden fire was a “fast-moving, wind-drawn” blaze that was contained after eight days, Riverside Fire Chief Michael Moore said.
The estimated damage from the fire was $28 million, he said. The cost of fighting the fire was estimated at $1.5 million.
