Canyon Fire Quelled as Winds Die

Hampered by steep terrain but assisted by changing weather, about 500 firefighters battled a day-old brush fire Thursday that had threatened a colony of historic cabins in the Orange County back country.

The fire, which started late Wednesday afternoon, came close to 50 rustic dwellings in the Holy Jim Canyon and Trabuco Canyon areas of the Cleveland National Forest before the roaring winds suddenly declined and the flames died down. Authorities said 25 to 35 people were evacuated. Two firefighters suffered minor injuries, authorities said.

“The flames were uncomfortably close, about 20 to 30 feet away,” said Beep Colclough, treasurer of the Holy Jim Cabin Owners Improvement Assn., whose husband Steve is chief of the Holy Jim Volunteer Fire Department.

Authorities said the blaze had burned 100 to 125 acres by Thursday afternoon and was no longer a threat to the cabins, many of which were built in the 1920s and 1930s. The Holy Jim Canyon area--named after a long-ago settler with a fondness for profanity--had not been touched by fire for 20 years.

Although crews were still hosing down hotspots along creek beds and charred treetops, U.S. Forest Service officials reported that most of the fire had been extinguished. By Thursday night it was 80% contained, they said, and if the winds don’t increase today it should be fully contained late Saturday.

“This has been a difficult fire to fight,” said Kathy Bacon of the U.S. Forest Service. “It’s a very rural setting with narrow roads and steep terrain that is hard for firefighters to work in. The winds were a real problem Wednesday night, but they have died down since then.”

Among those fighting the blaze are crews from the Orange County Fire Department, the Los Angeles County Fire Department, the U.S. Forest Service and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. They began using five water-dropping helicopters Thursday morning. No property damage or serious injuries were reported.

The fire, whose cause is under investigation, was reported at 5:37 p.m. Wednesday. Authorities said it appeared to have started at the far end of Upper Trabuco Creek Road. It burned furiously until the winds changed early Thursday.

“The leading edge headed away from the cabins,” Bacon said. “But we are still concerned because the fire is still active.”

Holy Jim Canyon and Trabuco Canyon are filled with old dwellings that have been used as weekend and vacation retreats for more than 70 years. Power comes from generators and propane.

Access is from Trabuco Creek Road, a rutted, dirt course about 5.5 miles long. The surrounding landscape is covered with manzanita, yuccas, ceonothus, clump grasses and groves of scrub oak and sycamore--a hazard when dry.

Battalion Chief Dave Wilson, 57, of the Irvine Fire Department was among the first to reach the mountain blaze Wednesday. He and other firefighters feared the worst when they saw gusting winds kicking walls of flame down the ridge directly toward them.

Between the firefighters and the flames were the cabins in Holy Jim and upper Trabuco canyons. The wind was blowing so hard and the fire behaving so erratically, Wilson said, that he and the others were not sure they could stay.

But as they watched, the cold, heavy winds changed course, knocking down the flames. “If you believe in miracles, this surely would be one,” Wilson said.

As firefighters entered Holy Jim Canyon late Wednesday, Betty Somes, a retired graphic artist, was reluctant to leave her cabin, which she has owned for more than 20 years. After being warned by a neighbor, she opened her front door and realized how grave the situation was.

“The sky was all turbulent and rosy red. That scared me. That made me believe I ought to go,” said Somes, who went to Laguna Beach to stay with friends.

Firefighters and canyon residents said the flames were so low by 3 a.m. that many caught snatches of sleep. But at about 7 a.m., just after sunrise, the winds kicked up again and threatened to revive the fire.

Helicopters, however, were able to maneuver into the remote canyons by daylight and began dumping water. Long, snaking lines of firefighters fanned out over the scorched ridge and creek beds, extinguishing smoldering embers.

By midday, Orange County fire investigators were at work, examining a stone and wood cabin in upper Trabuco Canyon, where some locals said the fire might have started in a barbecue. Investigators declined to comment, saying it was too early to say how the fire started.

At the nearby Joplin Boys Ranch, officials of the county probation camp remained ready to evacuate 64 youths if the fire started to spread again. Five 15-passenger vans are on standby to take the inmates to Juvenile Hall in Orange.

In Trabuco Canyon, residents were not evacuated, but they said the fire was frightening nevertheless. Many were relieved the blaze did not start Tuesday night when winds whipped through the area in 50-mph gusts.

“We were lucky,” said Jim Iacono.

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Times staff writers Christine Hanley and David Reyes contributed to this report.