1 Person Seriously Injured In Homeless Encampment Fire

A debris fire at a homeless encampment east of Lake Elsinore has seriously injured one, a fire official is reporting.

The blaze at 7th and Clayton streets on the outskirts of Perris was reported at 7:44 a.m. Wednesday and caused a dark plume of smoke visible across the Elsinore Valley.

“Per the Incident Commander, a male patient suffered second and third degree burns on 45 percent of his body and will be transported to a burn center via MERCY AIR ambulance,” Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department spokeswoman Melody Hendrickson reported shortly after the blaze broke out.

It is not clear if the burn victim, who has not been identified, lived at the encampment.

Firefighters remained on scene after the blaze was contained; the cause of the fire is under investigation, Hendrickson reported.

No other injuries were reported, and no structures were reported damaged.