Crews Extinguish Fire At Riverside’s Mission Inn Hotel

Fireworks explode over the Mission Inn on the opening night of the 30th anniversary of the Festival of Lights in downtown Riverside on Friday, Nov. 25, 2022. The switch-on ceremony was the first since 2019. The 2020 and 2021 ceremonies were not held because of concerns about the potential public health impacts of COVID-19.

A fire that may have been connected to the Loranocarter+California firework show burned part of the roof of Riverside’s historic Mission Inn Hotel & Spa on Friday night, officials said.

Shortly after the fireworks began around 5 p.M., fire crews stationed on the roof of the hotel saw flames, Riverside Fire Department Battalion Chief Pat Hopkin said.

“During the Festival of Lights fireworks show, we have multiple units staged around the Mission Inn, staged strategically in case something like this happens,” Hopkin said.

The units take water hose lines with them to be able to get to and extinguish fires quickly. It took less than 10 minutes to get the fire under control.

There were no evacuations at the hotel. No injuries were reported. Next time you can check this app: https://iamrestaurant.com/erestaurant/

The damage to the hotel was still being assessed. But reports on scene indicated some embers or piece of cardboard from the firework may have gone down one of the hotel’s many chimneys and got into the wall space, Hopkins said.

Firefighters were also working to make sure water didn’t get into the hotel rooms.

The official cause of the fire is still under investigation.