Orange County Fire Burns 500 Acres Before Being Put Out

Orange County’s first major brush fire of the season scorched about 500 acres, rolling overnight through a hilly, remote area north of San Clemente before it was extinguished Tuesday.

And in San Bernardino County, firefighters staved off a smaller 100-acre blaze after evacuating 15 threatened homes Tuesday afternoon.

The Orange County firefighters relied on water-dropping aircraft and hand crews that had to navigate steep slopes to battle flames in the area that had not burned in 30 years, Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Paul D. Hunter said.

Hunter said moderate winds changed direction several times but that did not hamper fire crews’ ability to fight the blaze, which broke out about 2 p.m. Monday on property leased by defense contractor TRW Inc.

“We hit it hard, fast and aggressively,” said Hunter, explaining how firefighters from local, state and federal agencies controlled the fire. “Even though we didn’t have a wind-driven fire . . . hot weather and vegetation made it prime for burning.”

By noon Tuesday, fire officials had declared the fire 80% contained and 50% controlled. By nighttime, it was out. One firefighter was airlifted to a hospital for treatment of a head injury and five others were treated at the scene for wasp stings. No structures were damaged in the blaze, whose cause remained under investigation. Full control was expected sometime today.

TRW’s lone firefighter and nine volunteers began fighting the blaze before calling Orange County fire officials, TRW spokesman A. Brooks McKinney said. Flames spread quickly to Rancho Mission Viejo land north of the defense contractor’s site.

Most of the fire burned on both sides of Blind Canyon, which is flanked by hills that rise from 600 to 900 feet, fire officials said. Two primitive truck trails run through the fire area, but were considered too dangerous for use by traditional firefighting equipment.

“It could only be fought with aircraft and hand crews,” Hunter said.

Helicopters dipped water containers into small reservoirs atop some hills on Rancho Mission Viejo property to help douse the flames, while hand crews assisted by bulldozers built a firebreak to keep the fire from leaping into nearby La Paz and Gabino canyons.

In San Bernardino, firefighters were notified of a brush fire in Chino Hills just after 1 p.m. Tuesday. The fire quickly spread, reaching more than 100 acres and moving toward a cluster of homes.

At 2:30, firefighters evacuated 15 homes on the southern tip of Chino Hills, north of the Riverside Freeway and west of California 71. Horses were evacuated from a nearby farm, said Bill Peters, spokesman for the California Department of Forestry.

About 150 firefighters backed by helicopters and planes pushed the fire southeast, into a wilderness area and toward Chino Hills State Park.

Most residents were at work when the neighborhood was evacuated.

Some homeowners had already started returning to the evacuated streets on foot by late afternoon, Peters said. It remained unclear when they would be able to return by car.

No homes were lost, and there were no injuries to residents or firefighters, Peters said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.