Brush Fire Sweeps Across 550 Acres in Carbon Canyon Area

A brush fire fueled by erratic winds and hot weather swept across more than 550 acres Sunday, endangering wildlife but skirting residential areas in an unincorporated Orange County area that borders Brea and Yorba Linda.

More than 200 firefighters from seven agencies manned fire lines and drove bulldozers to battle the blaze that started about 2 p.m. on land leased by Shell Oil Co., said Joseph Kerr, Orange County Fire Department spokesman.

By 10 p.m. firefighters said the blaze was 50% contained. It was expected to be fully under control by midnight, a spokesman said.

No injuries were reported and no structures were threatened Sunday, although shifting winds continually troubled fire officials, Kerr said.

The cause of the blaze was unknown, he said.

The fire started near Carbon Canyon and Telegraph roads and moved easterly during the afternoon, sending clouds of dark brown smoke skyward as it approached the Gilman Peak area.

Bright Orange Flames

A series of tactical control fires, commonly known as “backfires,” prompted many residents in Yorba Linda late Sunday to notify the Orange County Fire Department after they saw bright orange flames creep along a steep slope.

“It started coming down this way but apparently it was a controlled fire and moving in the other direction,” said Scott Sherman, a resident on Canyon Terrace Drive, located about a mile from the blaze.

Sherman said that although he and neighbors were apprehensive about the fire’s proximity, many homes had cement-tile roofs and they “weren’t too concerned.”

“Besides, the fire’s moving (away) from us in a north, northeasterly direction,” he added.

However, for several hours in the afternoon, a dangerous combination of high temperature, wind and low humidity prompted fire officials to give the blaze a “good potential” to spread rapidly.

By evening, fire officials were more optimistic. Temperatures had dropped to 80 degrees, winds had decreased to 10 knots and humidity had risen to 69%.

Kerr said the area is almost the same type of canyon terrain that was involved in the 1978 Carbon Canyon fire that scorched 5,600 acres. In that fire, Santa Ana winds from the east swept the fire from San Bernardino County through Carbon Canyon and south to Yorba Linda.

Sunday’s fire started in an unincorporated area of Orange County just south of Brea, but moved in an easterly direction toward the San Bernardino County line.

Residents, who watched the fire from backyards, said they saw deer and other wildlife scurrying for safety as the flames and smoke approached.

Third Fire of Season

It was the third brush fire of the season in Orange County and the second largest, fire officials said. About 750 acres were blackened on July 3 after a banner-towing plane crashed on the Riverside Freeway and touched off a fire in the Santa Ana Canyon area midway between Yorba Linda and Corona.

On Sunday, no structures were damaged or threatened, although at one time firefighters ringed the Hollydale Mobile Home Park in Carbon Canyon as a precautionary measure.

Throughout the late afternoon, state forestry airplanes loaded with hundreds of gallons of fire retardant and assisted by a sheriff’s helicopter took off from Ryan Airport in Hemet to make numerous drops over the fire area.

By evening, the ranks of those fighting the blaze had increased to about 200 firefighters from La Habra, Fullerton, Brea, Orange County, the Marine Corps, the state Department of Forestry and the U.S. Forest Service.

The fight was directed from a command post set up at Olinda Village on Carbon Canyon Road.