A rapidly growing wildfire in Southern California quickly consumed hundreds of acres and burned several homes after igniting in Orange County on Friday, county officials said.
The Norte Fire started around noon near a neighborhood in the San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano areas and had grown to 570 acres as of Friday evening, Orange County firefighters said. It is one of several fires that have broken out since Thursday due to strong Santa Ana winds affecting Southern California.
“Our actions today will be to continue to attack the fire and work to get residents home as soon as it is safe to do so,” Orange County Fire Capt. Greg Barta said in a video on X Saturday morning.
Topography and weather conditions allowed the fire to grow quickly, Orange County Division 3 Fire Chief Mark Backoff said in a video posted to social media Friday afternoon.
Six homes were destroyed or damaged by the fire, and two firefighters suffered “significant” injuries but are stable in area hospitals, fire officials said.
Evacuation orders were issued for several areas of San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano, encompassing about 4,600 homes and 16,000 people, Orange County Fire Chief TJ McGovern said. Officials have asked residents to be patient as they assess when it is safe to return home.
Officials said progress was made in fighting the fire in the evening, but warned the situation remained volatile.
“The majority of the fires have been extinguished. However, some homes were still impacted here, and as you can see, the wind is still blowing quite strong here,” said Steve Concialdi, spokesman for the Orange County Fire Authority.
The fire is now 5% contained as of Saturday morning. The crews’ goal is to “maintain the fire within its current footprint,” McGovern said during a news conference Friday evening.
Aerial footage from CNN affiliate KCBS showed several homes on fire Friday afternoon.
Resident Robert Morris called the sudden threat to homes a “wake-up call,” telling KCBS, “I’ve lived here since 1995, and this is the first time we’ve really had a fire in this area.” »
U.S. Rep. Mike Levin, a Democrat whose district includes part of Orange County, said his family had to evacuate their San Juan Capistrano home while he attended an event nearby.
Levin thanked firefighters for preventing greater damage from the fire and said the “year-round wildfire season” has become the “new normal” for Southern California.
Orange County sheriff’s deputies were going door to door in areas under evacuation orders, telling people to leave for their safety, the sergeant said. Lizbeth Gwisdalla, a spokeswoman for the sheriff’s department, told CNN.
Ten schools were closed prematurely “out of an abundance of caution” and sports and after-school programs were canceled, the Capistrano Unified School District announced.
Wind gusts in the area reached 25 mph Friday afternoon and remained high into the evening. Santa Ana winds were expected to peak Friday, but remain high through Saturday, then decrease later in the weekend.
“We’re going to be here for several days,” Concialdi said of the continuing danger, emphasizing the need to guard against new fires that could break out from embers blown by strong Santa Ana winds.
Several fires have broken out since the Santa Ana winds began Thursday, forcing evacuations in other parts of Southern California.
In Malibu, more than 7,000 structures were in areas under evacuation orders or warnings Friday due to the Bryson Fire, which has burned about 150 acres and is 52% contained as of Thursday evening, a Los Angeles County Fire Department spokesperson told CNN, estimating the number of people under evacuation orders at several hundred.
Crews made “great progress” against the fire overnight, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said at a news conference Friday morning.
At least one firefighter was “slightly injured” and was taken to hospital, he said. The chief did not provide additional details, only saying, “They were online all night, so minor injuries are expected.” »
The fire still threatens more than 100 structures in the area, but no damage has been reported. “But obviously if the winds pick up later in the afternoon and we are unable to contain the fire, a larger area could be affected and threatened,” the chief said. More than 400 firefighters and more than 75 “ground and air resources” are being mobilized to fight the Bryson fire, he said.
Another southern wildfire has burned more than 2,000 acres near Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton since it ignited Thursday afternoon, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).
The Henderson Fire forced a temporary evacuation order Thursday for an area of the base and the closure of a nearby portion of Interstate 5 in San Diego County, the Marine Corps said in a statement Friday. Smoke affected visibility on both sides of the highway Friday afternoon, the California Highway Patrol said.
Camp Pendleton and Cal Fire firefighters continue to actively battle the fire, but it was burning “in a remote section” of the base and there was no active threat to personnel or facilities, the Marine Corps statement said Friday.
Dangerous fire conditions in Southern California have also prompted utility companies to temporarily cut off power to tens of thousands of people, fearing their equipment could start fires.
This story has been updated with additional information.
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