Three teenagers have been charged in connection with one destructive fire in Riverside which authorities say was caused by fireworks.
The Hawarden fire burned 600 acres, destroyed seven homes and damaged 18 others. On the day the fire started – July 21 – temperatures soared above 100 degrees and winds reached 17 mph, quickly spreading the flames.
The fire caused “immeasurable levels of fear” among residents “justifiably fearful for their safety,” Riverside Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson said at a news conference Thursday when she announced the charges against the three.
“All fireworks are illegal in the city of Riverside for a reason,” she said.
Surveillance video showed three people lighting the fireworks that started the brush fire, according to Riverside Police Chief Larry Gonzalez. They set off 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 “intentional and malicious arson” against the three juveniles — all 16-year-olds who 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-driven” fire that was extinguished 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.