Countywide : Firefighters Contain 11,000-Acre Blaze

Firefighters were poised Monday night to extinguish the last flames of a forest fire that has ravaged more than 11,000 acres of wilderness in Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties during the last six days.

“We’re sure glad to get this behind our backs,” said Audrey Hagen of the U.S. Forest Service. “It’s been a long week for our (firefighters).”

At nightfall Monday, the firefighters had contained the blaze. Hagen said firefighters had formed a line around the fire and were waiting for slightly cooler evening temperatures before launching the final assault.

The Forest Service and personnel from eight agencies, including the Orange County Fire Department, worked to control the blaze that was started last Wednesday by Marines on a training exercise at nearby Camp Pendleton. Total cost of the effort was estimated at $2.5 million.

At one point, more than 1,000 firefighters battled the blaze when it threatened the Riverside County community of Rancho Carrillo. As of Monday, 314 Forest Service firefighters remained to handle the final operation.

“We were lucky to get some rain during the weekend,” Hagen said. “Although it made the ground a little slick, it also kept the flames low. It helped a lot.”

Capt. Jim Tege of the Riverside County Fire Department said Rancho Carrillo residents were “thankful in a way” for the fire. When the fire threatened houses Friday, firefighters and residents cut a mile long 35-foot wide fire break around the village.

“We had asked for that for years. Now residents feel much safer,” he said.

Tege also said the fire had also taken a major toll on the wilderness’s landscape.