Flare-Up in Canyon Brush Chars 200 Acres

Windblown embers from the Baker Canyon fire caused a flare-up Friday that burned at least 200 acres of brush but did not threaten any homes, firefighters said.

The new fire broke out about 11:30 a.m. near State Spur and Black Star Canyon Road, said Capt. Scott Brown, a spokesman for the Orange County Fire Authority.

There were no evacuations and no reports of injuries.

“I know that everybody is a little nervous,” Brown said, scanning the smoke-filled skies at the scene of the flare-up. “They see the smoke. But the communities of Silverado and Black Star canyons are safe and out of harm’s way.”

Firefighters by late Friday night had yet to contain the flare-up.

Earlier in the day, firefighters worried that high-voltage power lines above the blaze would snap and fall on them. But though the power lines crackled and arced, none had fallen by early evening.

Fire authorities had predicted that the Baker Canyon fire, which blackened more than 5,300 acres, would be extinguished by early Friday. However, Brown said, flare-ups are not uncommon.

Officials believe the flare-up began when temperatures climbing to 91 degrees ignited embers just inside the perimeter of the earlier fire, and wind sent some across fire lines to tinder-dry brush nearby.

“It’s not unusual for the high temperatures to ignite a dead ember,” Brown said. “It’s like blowing at the end of a cigarette.”

The blaze, about two miles east of Irvine Lake, sent an ominous-looking plume of smoke high into the air. Ground crews manning 26 fire engines were aided by six air tankers, three bulldozers and two helicopters.

Weather conditions helped keep the danger to homes and residents minimal. Light winds of about 12 mph blew the fire northeast, in the direction of Cleveland National Forest, and the air was more moist than in previous days, with a relative humidity of 15% by late afternoon. By evening, the wind had shifted, blowing the fire back on itself, firefighters said.

Officials at nearby Silverado Elementary School on Santiago Canyon Road monitored the fire to determine whether to evacuate. But they concluded the children were in no danger and held classes until the usual time of 2:25 p.m., when students were bused home without incident, said Neil McKinnon, an assistant superintendent of Orange Unified School District.

Silverado Elementary, with 125 students, had been closed Tuesday and Wednesday during the Baker Canyon fire. It reopened Thursday.

A school field trip at the Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary in Modjeska Canyon, a few miles southeast, was interrupted by the flare-up, but the students were in no danger, McKinnon said. A bus picked up the students from Panorama Elementary School at 1 p.m. and took them back to their Cowan Heights campus, McKinnon said. He said officials were concerned about possible road closures.

The 31st Orange County Cross-Country Championships, scheduled for today at Irvine Regional Park, has been canceled because of the fires, said meet organizer Jerry Whitaker, girls athletic director at Foothill High in Santa Ana.

In other developments, arson investigators plan to meet with the Orange County district attorney’s office Thursday with the results of their investigation into the cause of the Baker Canyon fire. It will be up to prosecutors to determine whether a citation or criminal charges will be filed, Brown said.

The Baker Canyon fire started late Monday night on the 100-acre grounds of a metal recycling business owned by Dan Dulac, who lives with his wife and children on the property, firefighters have said. Several families of workers also live there in trailers. Investigators said the blaze started as a result of someone trying to burn the insulation off copper wiring for recycling. But they have not yet identified that person.

More than 1,200 firefighters battled the blaze at its height. The fire moved early Tuesday in the direction of the heavily populated areas of Cowan Heights and Lemon Heights. An abandoned school building and a trailer were destroyed in the fire.

By Wednesday, winds began to abate, and firefighters encircled the blaze, which cost more than $1.1 million to fight, said Herb Jewell, chief of the wild land fire defense section of the Fire Authority.

Also contributing to this report was Times staff writer Nick Anderson.