City News Service

An acre-wide fire that broke out on Wednesday on a mountainside near Cabazon was likely the result of arson.

The non-injury blaze was reported shortly before 3 p.m. south of the intersection of Elm Street and Hattie Avenue, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.

The agency said multiple engine crews and a Cal Fire helicopter crew were sent to the location and encountered flames moving at a slow rate on the edge of the San Bernardino National Forest.

No structures were threatened.

Sheriff’s deputies were summoned because witnesses reported seeing an unidentified man igniting the fire, according to the sheriff’s department.

Firefighters contained the blaze by 4 p.m.

A sheriff’s STAR-9 patrol helicopter was requested to help search for the suspect. That ef

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