MISSION VIEJO : Brush Fire Briefly Endangers Houses
A brush fire reportedly started by a youth who was playing with illegal fireworks burned about a dozen acres of grassland Wednesday and came dangerously close to a nearby housing tract, fire officials said.
The 3 p.m. blaze started in an area of rolling hills near Camden and Bridgeton and burned for nearly two hours before firefighters could bring it under control, said Orange County Fire Department spokeswoman Kathleen Cha.
“We fought the fire very aggressively,” Cha said. “The fire did not end up threatening any of the homes, because the hills have a very well-maintained greenbelt which separated them from the dry grass.”
Cha said most of the two-story homes had tile roofs so they were not threatened by flying embers.
More than 50 county firefighters controlled the blaze by 4:50 p.m. One firefighter was hospitalized after suffering a knee injury.
A male youth, whose name and age were not released, was taken into custody shortly after the fire started, Cha said.
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