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.