As the Airport Fire in Trabuco Canyon grew in size Tuesday despite firefighters’ overnight efforts, more than 3,000 homes were threatened by the wildfire, prompting additional mandatory evacuations in the area.
The fast-moving fire, which exploded in size within hours Monday, scorched 9,333 acres at 0% containment as of Tuesday morning, creating an intense firefight for more than 1,000 firefighters.
Two firefighters were recovering after suffering heat-related injuries, officials said.
How it started
The Airport Fire was reported at around 1:15 p.m. Monday on Trabuco Creek Road near an remote-controlled airplane airport, went from scorching 7 acres to over 2,000 acres within a few hours.
The wildfire was caused unintentionally by heavy equipment that workers were using to move boulders along Trabuco Creek Road, officials said. Despite workers’ effort to stop the spread with their fire extinguishers, the fire took off amid breezy, dry conditions.
Evacuation orders, warnings
Additional mandatory evacuations were issued Tuesday for areas along Ortega Highway near Caspers Park, officials with the Orange County Fire Authority said.
And more neighborhoods were under evacuation warnings, including Silverado Canyon and Modjeska Canyon.
See the map of areas under evacuation orders, warnings here.
As the heavy smoke from the fire has blanketed the area, neighbors scrambled to pack up and get to safety.
“I couldn’t think in that moment. I just grabbed my dog, and that’s it, Fernando Garcia said after leaving her home.
While the fire was burning away from the homes Tuesday, there is no word when people would be allowed to return.
“I hope they get a good handle on it today. I know they’ll have a lot of resources on it today because there are more homes around this way,” Laurie Nowocinski, who evacuated her Robinson Ranch home, said.
Road closures
The following roads were closed to the public as fire crews battled the flames.
- Plano Trabuco and Joshua Drive
- Plano Trabuco and Robinson Ranch
- Antonio and Alas de Paz
- Trabuco Canyon and Trabuco Creek
- Santa Margarita and Antonio
- Santiago Canyon Road and Live Oak Canyon Road
Shelters
A temporary shelter is set up at the Lake Forest Sports Park located at 28000 Vista Terrace in Lake Forest, available to provide assistance until 10 p.m. Monday.
A long-term care shelter was established at the Bell Tower Regional Community Center at 22232 El Paseo, Rancho Santa Margarita.
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