Update: Verona Fire in Riverside County at 38% containment

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Updated: 9:01 a.m. May 21

First discovered: 44 hours ago, 12:20 p.m. May 19

Initial location: Verona Road and Juniper Springs Road, unincorporated Green Acres and Homeland area, Riverside County, Calif.

Fire unit: Cal Fire Riverside Unit

Fire type: Wildfire

Fire name: Verona Fire

Verona Fire initially started 12:20 p.m. May 19 at Verona Road and Juniper Springs Road, unincorporated Green Acres and Homeland area in Riverside County, California.

It has burned 600 acres after being active for 44 hours. A crew of 354 firefighters has been working on site and, as of Thursday morning, they managed to contain 38% of the fire. Investigations into its cause are still ongoing.

The firefighting efforts involve 58 engines, 15 water tenders, two helicopters, two dozers and five hand crews. According to Cal Fire, "Numerous firefighting air tankers from throughout the State are flying fire suppression missions as conditions allow."

Evacuation information from Cal Fire

Evacuation Warnings

Potential threat to life and/or property. Those who require additional time to evacuate, and those with pets and livestock should leave now.

Evacuation Warnings have been issued for the following zones:

HMT-1287

HMT-1288

RVC-1187-B

RVC-1285

RVC-1286

See live video from the area:

Https://cameras.alertcalifornia.org/?id=Axis-Elsinore2

Fire containment

What does it mean for a fire to be 38% contained?

Containment indicates what percentage of the fire perimeter has been surrounded by a control line. In this case, it means that 38% of the wildfire is contained from spreading, while 62% is still uncontrolled.

Containment is part of a larger plan for managing a wildfire. It is normally expressed as a percentage and it refers to how much of the fire perimeter has been surrounded/enclosed by a control line that firefighters create. The containment percentage indicates a certain level of control, but it doesn't always correlate to safety level. Also, it's important to note that containment doesn't mean a fire is out.

How is containment measured?

The incident's central command constantly receives progress reports from firefighters on the ground. As the fireline is constructed, inspected or reinforced, mappers record those details to adjust the containment percentage. The percentage tells the public how much of the fire perimeter is believed to not go beyond the control lines.

Source: Cal Fire

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This story was originally published May 21, 2026 at 7:17 AM.