Crews Tame Canyon Blaze as Winds Die

Santa Ana winds diminished considerably Monday, helping firefighters battle a brush fire that swept through a wilderness area over the weekend, scorching 2,400 acres near Anaheim Hills.

The fire was about 35% contained and no longer spreading, said Kymbra Fleming, a spokeswoman for the Orange County Fire Authority. Full containment is expected by 6 p.m. Wednesday, she said.

“It’s burning in very steep, rugged terrain that is not easily accessible,” Fleming said. “They are fighting it with hand crews, but they don’t expect it to grow in size, and they don’t expect it to reach any populated areas.”

About 1,000 firefighters have been battling the blaze, which started about 9:15 p.m. Saturday in Coal Canyon, a rugged wilderness area stretching east of Anaheim Hills through Chino Hills State Park between the Eastern toll road and the Riverside Freeway.

Driven by Santa Ana winds gusting to 70 mph, the fire quickly consumed much of the area’s thick scrub, but never threatened human life or property, Fleming said.

By Monday, winds were less than 15 mph. Fire crews “are fairly confident that they are going to be able to hold it to 2,400 acres,” Fleming said Monday afternoon.

Although firefighters said the cause of the blaze was under investigation, environmental activists who have battled for decades to preserve Coal Canyon received an e-mail Monday from Chino Hills State Park Supt. Ron Krueper, blaming the fire on a fallen power line at the Riverside-Orange County line.

“Due to the high winds, the fire ‘hopped’ southwest into the back area of Coal Canyon,” the e-mail read.

Because the area is home to rare or endangered species of plants and trees, biologists were at the scene Monday to evaluate damage, said Ken Pimlott, a spokesman for the California Dept. of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Among other things, Pimlott said, the burned land hosts one of the world’s four remaining stands of Tecate Cypress, a species once found throughout the Southwest. Other shrubs and flowers common to the area are Riversidian sage scrub, dudleyas and Braunton’s milk-vetch.

Initial indications were that environmental damage may not be severe. “It was a very mosaic burn,” Pimlott said, “and it didn’t burn completely. There is still vegetation ... I wouldn’t say it’s a serious impact.”

The largest and most famous of the trees, christened “Big Mo” by a would-be real estate developer several years ago, was burned only on its lower branches, Krueper’s e-mail said.

Authorities’ bigger concern is that the blaze could be a harbinger of fire risk to come. “Any time you have Santa Ana winds with as little rain as we’ve had, it makes things very dry and hazardous,” Fleming said. “I think it’s just a reminder that we live in an area where ... we have to be careful. When we get Santa Ana winds as strong as they were on Saturday night, it poses a problem.”

No more high winds are expected this week, she said.

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Times staff writer Janet Wilson contributed to this report.