1,440-Acre Brush Fire Is Extinguished

Firefighters snuffed out the largest Orange County brush fire in two years on Tuesday after calling in 33 fire engines, two bulldozers and two helicopters.

The blaze erupted Sunday at about 2 p.m. on land leased by the Shell Oil Co. in the Carbon Canyon area bordering Brea and Yorba Linda. When the last flames were extinguished at about 6 p.m. Tuesday, the flames had charred 1,440 acres and cost Orange County taxpayers about $300,000, Orange County Fire Department spokesman Pat Antrim said.

“It’s going to be expensive, I can tell you that much,” Antrim said. “You figure one firefighter’s wages --200 strong--and the cost is going to be sky-high.”

The county firefighters were assisted by 28 inmates from the James A. Musick Honor Farm.

Other costs of quelling the blaze included rental of the helicopters--each capable of dropping 6,000 gallons of water every five minutes--from the U.S. Forest Service, meals for the firefighters, equipment and fuel for the fire engines. The Orange County Fire Department will know the final tally of expenses in about a week, Antrim said.

Winds Blew Sparks

The most recent brush fire of similar magnitude in the county swept Modjeska Canyon in January, 1984. That blaze burned 1,100 acres and cost the county $295,000, Antrim said.

Firefighters thought they had the fire under control on Monday until winds in the afternoon caused flames to flare up again within the perimeter of the fire lines that had been cut into the brush with bulldozers and hand tools. The gusts wafted sparks and embers across the lines into unburned areas.

“Within the perimeter line, there was still a lot of unburned vegetation,” Antrim said. “The problem that occurs within those islands is that the brush is still smoldering and burning and there’s a chance that some of those islands can ignite at any time. Some of them were up to 100 acres in size.”

Contained the Flames

By 7 a.m. Tuesday, firefighters had again contained the flames within the fire lines, and had extinguished 95% of the flames. Winds remained calm, and firefighters spent the rest of the day putting out the remaining flames, disposing of unburned vegetation within the 1,440-acre perimeter and making sure all embers had been extinguished.

There were no injuries reported and the fire did not endanger any structures, although it did come within one or two miles of homes in the Sleepy Hollow area of San Bernardino County on Monday.

“We did put fire equipment in the area just as a precaution,” Antrim said. “The fire was burning in that direction, and if the winds had flared up, the fire might have progressed that far. But, fortunately, that didn’t happen.”