Montebello Fire Breaks Out In Riverbed [Updated]

A brush fire has broken out in a Montebello, California riverbed, near the Whittier Narrows Reserve, according to a report from KTLA.

The Montebello fire is being called the Lincoln Fire, and according to a Montebello Police Department statement, has prompted the closure of Lincoln Boulevard between Read Drive and San Gabriel Boulevard. Drivers have been advised to take Montebello Boulevard as an alternate route.

No injuries have been reported, although as per a report from ABC 7, the size and scope of the blaze is still unknown; it remains uncertain if any structures are threatened by the brush fire.

As the Inquisitr has previously reported, the California wildfires have been particularly bad this year, breaching containment barriers, destroying dozens of homes and forcing over 13,000 residents to evacuate to shelters.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department’s Air Operations Section and Los Angeles Fire Department have reportedly each assigned a firefighting helicopter to assist Montebello fire fighters on the scene, according to reports from social media.

As of 2:54 p.m. PST the three-alarm fire had burned 10 acres, according to the Montebello fire department.

The Inquisitr will continue to monitor news on the Montebello riverbed fire.

Update: According to further reports from KTLA, the blaze spread into Montebello Hills and onto a nearby oilfield, as per Montebello Fire Department Deputy Chief Dan Amador. “All oil field operations have ceased at this point. Everything is shut down.”

However, at around 4 p.m. PST the Montebello Police Department tweeted that the oil field still hadn’t been shut down.

Meanwhile, an arson investigator on-scene confirmed that two people have been taken into custody.

Montebello police have also indicated that one firefighter has been taken to a hospital to be treated for heat exhaustion; firefighters faced an ambient temperature of over 100° today while fighting the fire. A heat warning is set to expire at 8 p.m.