Recent IE brush fires prompt warning from firefighters: 'Any little spark will ignite a fire'

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, Calif. (KABC) -- Firefighters in the Inland Empire had a busy Tuesday as they battled multiple brush and grass fires.

The Nice Fire in San Bernardino County burned about 90 acres in Mentone with flames burning uphill. As of Wednesday, the fire's no longer progressing and is 50% contained.

WATCH: Crews battle brush fire in Mentone

A brush fire in Mentone burned nearly 70 acres.

In Riverside County, the Juniper Fire near Perris burned about 68 acres. It has also been stopped but left plenty of damage behind. The fire destroyed at least two homes and damaged other properties.

"I lost the water tank down below and just the corner of a well shed," said resident Norman Sloane, who considers himself lucky. "Half of the firemen thought that the structure was gone and it didn't get touched because I have a metal roof and I've got no eaves for the flames to go under."

After Southern California's record rainfall, there's been a lot of growth in the foothills - but all of that green is turning brown. Now, with rising temperatures, firefighters say Tuesday's fires should be a cautionary tale of what we can expect over the next several months.

When it comes to defensible space, firefighters said there is still a battle.

"We would like to see some better clearance out here," said CAL FIRE Riverside County Fire Capt. Richard Cordova when discussing defensible space.

One area ABC7 visited on Wednesday had high grass and plenty of weeds, which all burned.

Cordova said time is running out to clear brush from around homes with a potential heat wave on the way.

"Now, we're going to start seeing higher temperatures, lower humidities come this weekend, and any little spark will ignite a fire," he said. "As you can see, this grass is ready to burn and we haven't see this type of grass crop in over years because of the drought and now we're seeing six foot grass crops out here."