Officials Airlift 18 People From Inaccessible Canyon

Orange County fire officials airlifted 18 residents with their dogs, cats and birds from remote Holy Jim Canyon on Monday amid concerns that more rain this week might leave people stranded in their homes for days.

Officials offered residents a ride out by helicopter after visiting the isolated area inside the Cleveland National Forest, where creeks swollen by the weekend’s rain cut off the only access road.

Most of the residents--mainly women and children--accepted the offer and a Fire Department helicopter shuttled them with belongings and family pets to Rancho Santa Margarita, said Capt. Dan Young of the Orange County Fire Department. The helicopter, leased by the department to drop water on wilderness fires, made five runs during the two-hour evacuation.

An Orange County Transit Authority bus waited to give the residents rides to the homes of friends and families.

About a dozen other people decided to remain in their homes in Holy Jim Canyon, a settlement of houses and seasonal cabins nearly five miles inside the park, northeast of Trabuco Canyon. The homes are not in danger of flooding, Young said.

“It’s a pretty hardy breed of folks up there by the nature of where they’ve chosen to live,” Young said.

Young said several residents had called for advice due to forecasts of more rain this week. Meteorologists at WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times, predicted showers starting Wednesday and rain likely Thursday through Saturday.

After fire crews visited the area Monday, officials decided to evacuate residents as a precaution, Young said. He said good weather gave officials a chance to move residents before any new rains.

“As soon as the rain starts, the door closes,” he said.