Brush Blaze Stopped Near Orange Park Acres Homes

A potentially treacherous brush fire burned within a few feet of homes in the Orange Park Acres area Wednesday afternoon but was quickly contained after firefighters waged an all-out attack, both on the ground and from above.

Less than an hour later, a second brush fire broke out a few miles away in Silverado Canyon and was contained in 50 minutes.

Fire officials breathed a big sigh of relief at the minimal damage from what could have been major, destructive fires in dry brush during one of the most arid fire seasons on record.

6 Acres Burned

The Orange Park Acres fire burned 6 acres and the Silverado Canyon blaze blackened 2 acres. They were not the first brush fires of the season, “but this was the worst so far this season” because of the threat to the homes and the potential for the fires to spread, one firefighter said.

Within 20 minutes of the first report of the Orange Park Acres fire, 150 to 175 firefighters were at the scene, Orange County Fire Department spokeswoman Patti Range said. The first crew was on the scene within 1 minute of the call, Fire Department Capt. Patrick McIntosh said.

“We stood our ground with engine companies at practically every house,” Range said. While strike teams, hand crews and teams manning bulldozers and water tenders battled the flames from the ground, two air tankers flew over and dropped water.

“On fires like these, we throw everything at it. We don’t hesitate. We’d rather have too many people out there than too few,” Range said.

The fire, reported at 2 p.m., was contained by 3:30 p.m., she said.

“It came right up to the homes,” she said. “We have some very exclusive homes there, close together. The wild land interfaces right up to the homes there.”

Flames raced to within about 5 feet of Linda Galbraith’s back yard in the 100 block of Palo Loma Place in Orange, at the base of the hill that burned. Homes in the affluent neighborhood are relatively new and roofed with fire-resistant tile. Galbraith was at home with her 2-year-old daughter when she heard the fire engines arrive.

“Usually I’m in the back yard on days like this, but today, I decided to stay in and do needlepoint,” Galbraith said. The sirens did not alarm her because fire officials are often in the area to test water pressure, she said.

“So at first I thought, ‘Oh, they’re out here testing again,’ ” she said. Then she looked out the window and saw the flames approaching. She was frightened.

“It was close to my house. I called my husband and said, ‘It’s right here.’ ”

Range said the fire also burned close to homes on Meads Avenue and Hi Top Lane. Firefighters are always especially worried about homes on tops of hills because fire burns up hills faster than down, she said. But no structures burned, and no one was injured, officials said.

Cause Investigated

Cause of the blaze is under investigation, but fire officials are expected to investigate whether leftover Fourth of July fireworks are to blame. The blackened debris of spent fireworks was evident in the neighborhood Wednesday, but it was in the street, not in the brush.

“There are the remnants of . . . ‘safe and sane’ fireworks,” said Dave Rudat, a captain with the Orange Fire Department, pointing at burned-out fireworks on the street in front of the Galbraiths’ house.

Children reportedly were playing with fireworks in the neighborhood on Tuesday, as well as on Wednesday morning.

“My mom heard the fireworks go off,” said Sarah Austin, 5, who lives on Muir Drive, near the blaze. Her father, Dick Austin, arrived home after the fire and said that, living on the edge of the brush, he was concerned about fire.

“It’s pretty scary with how dry it is this time of year,” he said.

Just as firefighters were in the midst of the Orange Park Acres fire, the Silverado Canyon blaze was reported about 3 p.m.

Those flames burned off Ladd Canyon Road, just north of Silverado Canyon Road, Orange County Fire Department Battalion Chief Kevin Brame said. The fire spread up a small hill and over a ridge. There are several small homes in the rural area, but none were threatened, he said. Cause of that fire also is under investigation.

The blaze was the first this year in Silverado Canyon, considered a fire hazard area because of the dry brush, rugged terrain and narrow roads.

Fire officials are especially anxious about brush fires this year because of the exceptionally low level of rainfall last winter and spring, which has turned vegetation into kindling. Last February, usually one of the wettest months, was the second driest in history.

Such arid conditions led fire officials to declare the opening of fire season on April 4, a full two months earlier than usual.

Times staff writer Mariann Hansen contributed to this article.