Fire Hazard Areas Closed to Public

Hazardous fire areas in unincorporated parts of Orange County and in Anaheim, Orange, Brea and Laguna Beach will be closed to the public beginning today, the county Fire Authority has announced.

The areas will remain closed until rainfall reduces the risk of fires.

The Fire Authority warns that smoking is prohibited in hazardous fire areas, even inside vehicles, as is the discharge of fireworks. The authority also warns parents to keep matches away from children.

Signs will be posted in affected areas, and maps denoting the closures are available at fire departments. The closures don’t restrict property owners’ use of their land. Instead, they keep out trespassers, the common cause of wildfires, according to the fire authority.

The areas being closed to public entry include:

* North of the Brea city limits to the county line; between the Brea city limits and Yorba Linda’s wild land boundary, and east of there to the county line, excluding Chino Hills State Park.

* South of the Riverside Freeway to O’Neill Regional Park; west from the Cleveland National Forest boundary to the Anaheim Hills, Tustin, Orange, Irvine, and Lake Forest city limits; east of Rose Canyon to the Cleveland National Forest boundary; east of Dove Canyon to the Cleveland National Forest boundary, and areas between Santa Margarita, Coto de Caza and Dove Canyon. Also included are Silverado, Williams, Modjeska and Trabuco Canyons.

* South of Bonita Canyon Drive, Sand Canyon Avenue and the San Diego Freeway to Pacific Coast Highway; west of Laguna Canyon Road to Newport Beach city limits.

* East of Laguna Canyon Road to the Aliso/Wood Canyons Regional Park; south of Aliso/Wood Canyons Regional Park to the Laguna Beach city limits.

The closures do not include the Cleveland National Forest or county and state parks.

For more information, contact your local fire department’s fire prevention division.