Overheated Truck Sparks 100-Acre El Toro Brush Fire

A small pickup truck that got stuck on dry brush and overheated as its owner struggled to shift it back onto the road sparked a fire Saturday that swept through 100 acres in the El Toro area before 110 firefighters brought it under control.

Four firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion and a fifth was treated for minor burns, Orange County Fire Department spokesman Lou Furst said. The blaze did not damage any structures, officials said. Although it came as close as 600 to 700 feet of some homes, there were “no immediate threats to houses,” Furst said.

Rick Montgomery said he was on his way to work Saturday morning when his Toyota pickup got stuck on the dirt off the side of Canada Road in the area known as the Canada Loop.

“I burned the clutch trying to get it out,” Montgomery said. When the truck’s catalytic converter, part of the vehicle’s exhaust system, overheated, Montgomery said, he saw sparks fly. At first, he tried to stamp out the fire with his feet, said Montgomery, who suffered scratches on his legs, arms and part of his face. But the fire spread quickly, he said.

“In 15 minutes, this whole hill was on fire,” he said while looking at black patches of land that were still smoldering in spots from the afternoon’s blaze, which was brought under control by 6 p.m.

Furst said the cause of the fire was a “vehicle driving off the road.” He said an investigation is continuing. Firefighters on the scene said the red Toyota truck was the cause of the fire.

Dialed 911 for Help

Montgomery said that two co-workers in another truck took him and the co-worker he was traveling with to a nearby apartment, where they dialed the emergency number 911 for help. Montgomery said the fire ignited shortly after 9 a.m. Fire spokesmen, however, said the time of the first phone call was listed as 1:14 p.m.

In addition to battling the blaze, firefighters also endured high temperatures, which by 3 p.m. reached 96 degrees and 41% relative humidity.

With the assistance of the U.S. Forest Service and the California Department of Forestry, county firefighters used 14 engines, two bulldozers and three aircraft, which dropped a fire retardant into the flames, officials said.

Earlier in the afternoon, when the wind blew the smoke in the direction of nearby homes, residents walked to the top of nearby hills to see the origin and proximity of the flames.

‘A Little Too Close’

“It got a little too close,” said John Hargy, who lives in Ridgecrest Apartments in El Toro. Agreed Kathie Edwards: “John said, ‘This is close to our apartment.’ Then I realized, oh my God, it is close.”

Heidi Saxe, another resident who trekked about a mile on foot up a hill to see the flames, said: “I’ve lived in this area for 10 years and never saw (a brush fire) this big or so close to homes.”