The fire initially started in the Hawarden neighborhood on July 21, 2024. The Riverside Police Department issued evacuation orders for five different areas as the flames reached 230 acres and none of it had been contained.
Over the next four days, the blaze spread through 588 acres while damaging seven structures, destroying six, and injuring two civilians, according to Cal Fire.
During a news conference the evening the fire started, Riverside Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson estimated the Hawarden fire would cost the city $1 million in response costs plus $10 million in damage to homes.
Lock Dawson said camera footage captured the suspects behind the fire fleeing the area. The fire was caused by illegal fireworks, and two 16-year-olds were taken into custody.
The teenagers were placed in a juvenile detention center while a third suspect faced charges outside Riverside County.
“[The fire] caused immeasurable levels of fear among the residents who were rightly afraid for their safety,” Dawson told NBC 4 on Sept. 5. “All fireworks are illegal in the city of Riverside for a reason.”
This year on June 23, city officials used the Hawarden fire as a cautionary tale to discourage the community from using illegal fireworks to celebrate the Fourth of July. The City's Facebook page called it “the biggest fire in Riverside history.”
To enforce the call to action and avoid another catastrophe, authorities deployed “small unmanned aerial systems” to detect, record, and document illegal fireworks within city limits.
But, like clockwork, almost a year after the Hawarden fire, the Juniper Fire burned through Riverside County on June 30. It scorched 756 acres, but no structures were damaged or destroyed, according to Cal Fire. The exact cause of the fire is yet to be determined.
The trend will not stop any time soon. There’s no need to delete the Watch Duty app or stop the notifications from interrupting your doom scrolling. Watch Duty is a nonprofit-run wildfire alert system that provides real-time updates and verified information during fire emergencies—often faster than official channels.
According to 2025 Fire Hazard Severity Zones, Cal Fire classified the city of Riverside as being surrounded by “very high” risk areas for brush fires.
In an April interview with the Gazette, Fire Chief Steven McKinster emphasized the importance of staying informed and knowing “how to best mitigate fire within those zones as it relates to their residence.”
California and fire have become synonymous as the planet warms and the climate changes. CalMatters reports the Golden State now experiences 78 more annual “fire days” compared to 50 years ago.
The laid-back lifestyle the Sunshine State is known for has been interrupted by the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires.
Four million homes in California are in areas vulnerable to wildfires.
Cal Fire reported 2018 as the “deadliest fire year in the state’s history,” after recording 86 fatalities. The record was set by the Northern California fire that burned the town of Paradise.
The ongoing fire season is making it harder for Californians to find and keep affordable homeowners insurance, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Instead of living in fear of the next wildfire, it’s best to stay informed. In the second part of this series, we will hear from the Riverside Fire Department on how the Hawarden Fire has helped prepare the city of Riverside to avoid the fate of towns like Paradise—or Los Angeles.
