Fireplace help for Inland Empire homes, from the valley to Big Bear

Last updated October 28, 2026 · Reviewed by the Fireplace Helpline tech team

Gas emergency numbers in the Inland Empire

• SoCalGas: 800-427-2200, or 911. SoCalGas says to evacuate the area immediately and call from a safe location. Call 911 too if the leak could endanger people or property.
• Southwest Gas (Big Bear Valley and the Victor Valley): 877-860-6020, or 911. Southwest Gas says to leave the area, tell others to evacuate, and from a safe place call 911 and its line, day or night.

Not sure which company delivers your gas? Use the emergency number on your gas bill. Many mountain and desert homes use a propane tank instead; see the propane section below.

How Fireplace Helpline works in the Inland Empire

We're a video service, not a local shop, and we don't have an office in the Inland Empire. You book a call, point your phone at the fireplace, and a real fireplace tech guides you by voice. Many problems can be diagnosed, and often fixed, in one call. If yours needs hands-on work, tell us your ZIP code and we'll help you find a local pro.

Flat prices, shown before you book: Quick Fix $49 · Full Diagnostic $89 · Priority Fix $139.

Gas heat, but mostly mild nights

64% of California homes heat mainly with natural gas and 20% with electricity (EIA, 2020). In the Inland Empire valleys, though, a gas fireplace or log set often sits off from spring to fall, so a pilot that won't light or a remote with dead batteries is the usual first-cold-night problem. Toward the coast, SoCalGas covers much of the metro next door too; see Los Angeles.

Two gas utilities: valley and mountains

SoCalGas delivers gas across most of the valley floor, but Southwest Gas lists Victorville, Barstow and Big Bear as one of its California service areas, so homes in the Big Bear Valley and the Victor Valley call Southwest Gas, not SoCalGas, about a leak. Both numbers are above.

Big Bear's altitude changes the setup

The City of Big Bear Lake sits at 6,752 feet. Gas appliances burn differently in thin air: Napoleon's manual, for example, says that above 4,500 feet the fireplace's input rating is reduced by 4% for each additional 1,000 feet, unless local code says otherwise. That works out to roughly 9% lower at Big Bear Lake, so a properly set-up mountain cabin fireplace may run a little smaller than its sea-level rating. Altitude setup is an installer's job, but it's worth knowing if the flames look smaller than the brochure.

Propane fireplace in the Inland Empire?

If your fireplace runs on propane (a tank or cylinders outside and a propane company that delivers, rather than a utility gas meter), the utility numbers above aren't your first call. Smell gas? Get out, then call your propane supplier, or 911, from outside. In California, 2% of homes heat mainly with propane (EIA, 2020).

Propane fireplaces have a few problems of their own: a low or empty tank, a fireplace that won't light after a refill, and a regulator buried in snow or ice. The propane industry's safety guide says that if your tank runs out, your propane supplier or a qualified pro should leak-check the system before the gas goes back on. Our guide covers the safe checks: propane fireplace won't light or stay lit.

Electric fireplaces in Inland Empire homes

Newer tracts from Ontario and Rancho Cucamonga out to Temecula often have an electric fireplace or a media-wall insert instead of a gas line in the living room, and we help with those by video too. A tech goes through the safe checks with you: the unit plugged straight into a working wall outlet (no extension cord), the breaker or GFCI not tripped, fresh remote batteries, and the maker's reset after a cool-down if it shut itself off. If a Santa Ana wind power shutoff knocked it out, check the breaker once power is back before assuming it's broken. We'll never ask you to open the unit or touch wiring. See electric fireplace not working.

Riverside-San Bernardino fireplace not working? Start here

• Pilot won't light: Clicking but no flame, or no spark at all. The usual causes, in order.
• Pilot lights, then goes out: It lights, but won't stay lit. Usually the flame isn't heating the sensor enough.
• Pilot is lit, burner won't come on: The pilot's burning but the main flame never comes up.
• Propane fireplace won't light: Low tank, a recent run-out or refill, or a regulator under snow. Safe checks first.
• Electric fireplace won't turn on: No power, no heat, or it shut itself off. The safe checks manufacturers list, in order.
• Remote not working: Batteries, switch position, then re-pairing. Steps from the manufacturers.
• Proflame 2 blinking red light: One, two or three red blinks on the control module. What each one means and what to do first.
• Need a replacement part? Send us your model and serial, and a tech matches the exact gas, propane or electric fireplace part.

Common questions

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