Fire evacuation is lifted

Thirteen days after fire forced them from their homes, Santiago Canyon residents were allowed to return Saturday when expected flame-fanning Santa Ana winds didn’t materialize.

Fire officials lifted the mandatory evacuation order at 4 p.m., but emphasized that complete containment of Orange County’s Santiago fire isn’t anticipated until this evening.

Although the Santa Ana conditions of high winds and low humidity predicted for this weekend were expected to be less severe than two weeks ago, they remained a cause for concern. The first major Santa Anas of the season Oct. 21 fueled fires that destroyed more than 2,000 homes in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties.

But this weekend the Santa Anas “became a nonissue,” said Dennis Cross, an information officer for the Santiago fire command center. “We made some tactics and strategies to deal with it, had it materialized, but it didn’t. Our containment lines were never challenged.”

Persisting low humidity, light winds and high temperatures prompted the National Weather Service to maintain a “red flag” warning through this evening in Los Angeles County, after which cooler, more humid weather is expected to return.