how did springs fire in morena valley ca start

The Springs Fire near Moreno Valley appears to have started on or near Gilman Springs Road around 11 a.m. on Friday, April 3, 2026 , but the exact ignition cause has not been publicly confirmed in the sources I found. Reports consistently say it was a fast-moving brush fire driven by strong Santa Ana winds , which quickly pushed it from a small blaze into a major evacuation fire.

What’s known

• Location: 15900 block of Gilman Springs Road, east of Moreno Valley.

• Timing: First reported around 11 a.m. on April 3, 2026.

• Spread: It grew rapidly under hot, dry, windy conditions, with gusts reported around 30 to 55 mph.

• Cause: The public reporting I found does not name a definitive cause yet.

Bottom line

If you mean the ignition source , that has not been clearly disclosed in the reports I found. If you mean why it spread so fast , the answer is the Santa Ana winds and dry brush.

Quick note

A few posts and news updates online contain slightly different acreage and timing figures, but they all agree it was a wind-driven fire near Gilman Springs Road.

TL;DR: It started near Gilman Springs Road, but the exact cause hasn’t been confirmed publicly; strong Santa Ana winds made it spread fast.