Forest Rehabilitation Begins in Ortega Fire

As firefighters Saturday worked to put out the last remaining hot spots in a blaze that scorched Cleveland National Forest, a team of experts descended on the rugged terrain to map out a plan to rehabilitate the thousands of acres of charred brushland.

By early afternoon, the blaze was 90% contained and authorities hoped to completely contain it by late Saturday.

Full control of the blaze that has charred 8,300 acres of brushland in Orange and Riverside counties is not expected until Monday, said U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman LaVon Perez.

About 1,400 firefighters remained on the scene to take care of hot spots, down from the 2,300 who were used during the peak of the fire at midweek.

Fire crews set backfires to burn smoldering islands of brush east of El Cariso and sought to secure fire lines around the perimeter of the blaze.

At least two southeast strips of land inside the 3,499-acre San Mateo Wilderness Area were reported to be still burning out of control.

Perez said Ortega Highway, closed to traffic since the fire broke out Tuesday, will reopen today at 9 p.m.

A rehabilitation team scoured the fire site Saturday studying the damaged watershed that feeds into Lake Elsinore and trying to determine the extent of damage to wildlife and vegetation, said Forest Service spokesman Norm Machado.

The team includes a vegetation management specialist, a soils expert, wildlife biologist, recreation planner, landscape architect and an archeologist who was included because there are a number of prehistoric Indian sites in the region.

The group is expected to issue a comprehensive rehabilitation plan within days.

Machado said quick response by experts is important so that measures to protect remaining resources can be implemented. It is also advantageous to use fire equipment and personnel already on hand, he said.

“We can start putting people to work right away, where it would be much more costly to wait until the fire is completely out and have to call back personnel and equipment,” Machado said.

The team has already brought in bulldozers that have been used to form earthen ridges in charred areas to prevent water runoff and ensure that water is drained evenly.

The group will also begin seeding around some fire lines, Machado said.

Authorities have put the cost of fighting the blaze at more than $1.5 million and estimate that the flames have cost another $1.1 million in damage to several structures near Lake Elsinore.

Perez said firefighters suffered “a rash” of injuries Saturday. A crew of 10 reported stomach problems that might have been caused by a virus or possibly food poisoning. They were treated at a hospital. Others suffered minor injuries from beestings, heat exhaustion, heat stroke and asthma attacks, Perez said.

Five other firefighters were injured earlier in the week.

Investigators continue to ask the public’s help in identifying individuals believed to have either accidently or purposely started the fire near a roadside store along Ortega Highway.

Anyone with information is asked to call (714)736-1811.