A second brush fire ignited in Southern California amid dangerous high winds Monday, prompting evacuation orders for Yorba Linda, officials said.
The fire started in the Chino Hills area of Corona, west of the Santa Ana River, Corona Fire Department program specialist Denise Aguilar said. The blaze was initially dubbed the Green fire, but Orange County officials are now referring to it as the Blue Ridge fire.
At least one home had burned, and flames were threatening subdivisions north of the 91 Freeway.
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Firefighters make their way up a hill through smoke Tuesday in Chino Hills. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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Residents watch the Blue Ridge fire from Vellano Club Drive Tuesday in Chino Hills. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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The sun shines through smoke in the air Tuesday in Chino Hills. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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A firefighting helicopter makes a drop on the Silverado fire, which has been fanned by gusty Santa Ana winds for a second day in the Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park in Lake Forest. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Orange County firefighters battle Blue Ridge fire along 3700 block of San Antonio in Yorba Linda. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)
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Blue Ridge fire burns close to oil derricks along Aspen Avenue in Yorba Linda. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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A flare-up fills the sky with smoke from the Silverado fire burning in Irvine on Tuesday. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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An air tanker drops fire retardant behind homes Tuesday in Chino Hills. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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Yorba Linda residents gather around an Orange County Fire Authority vehicle at the intersection of Fairmont Boulevard and San Antonio Road, inquiring about the Blue Ridge fire that was burning close to their homes. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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Firefighter Raymond Vasquez fights the Silverado fire, fueled by Santa Ana winds, at the 241 Freeway and Portola Parkway in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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A crowd watches a hillside burn on Foxtail Drive and Lotus Avenue in Yorba Linda. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
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A homeowner watches flames burn a hillside near Foxtail Drive and Lotus Avenue in Yorba Linda. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
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People watch the Blue Ridge fire burn on Foxtail Drive in Yorba Linda. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
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A hillside burns near Foxtail Drive and Lotus Avenue in Yorba Linda. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
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A bicyclist takes a look at fire activity on Via Lomas de Yorba amid the Blue Ridge fire in Yorba Linda. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
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An air tanker drops fire retardant on a ridge near the Green River Golf Club in Corona. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
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A hot spot flares in the Silverado fire at the 241 Freeway and Portola Parkway in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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A water truck operator runs through the thick smoke of the advancing Silverado fire at the 241 Freeway and Portola Parkway in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Firetrucks convoy through thick smoke on Portola Parkway to battle the advancing Silverado fire. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Firefighter Raymond Vasquez braves tall flames as he fights the advancing Silverado fire. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Firetrucks convoy through thick smoke on the 241 Freeway to battle the advancing Silverado fire. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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A water truck operator is overcome after running through thick smoke from the advancing Silverado fire in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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An Orange County Fire Authority firefighter stands ready to defend a home as the Silverado fire approaches the Orchard Hills neighborhood of Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Orange County Fire Authority firefighters defend homes as the Silverado fire approaches the Orchard Hills neighborhood of Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Orange County Fire Authority firefighters have to look away because of the gusty, hot wind, debris and approaching flames while defending homes from the Silverado fire in the Orchard Hills neighborhood of Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Orange County Fire Authority firefighters do structure protection for homes in the Orchard Hills neighborhood of Irvine as the Silverado fire continues to burn. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
The fire was burning near the Green River Golf Club, Aguilar said, but it was heading west into Chino Hills and toward Yorba Linda, where officials reported the fire approaching from northeast of Bryant Ranch Park, on the east side of the city.
By late Monday night, the blaze had burned 6,600 acres, authorities said.
At the Green River Village mobile home park, Residents wandered out of their homes glancing up at the black smokes and hillsides on fire.
Watching it with his daughter was Rodrigo Suarez, 41. He said it was just three years ago when another fire ignited and burned the hillsides across the 91 freeway. He said the mobile home park wasn’t evacuated then and hoped it would not be this time.
Ken Leitner,71 and his wife were ready to go. They had stuffed their vehicles with what they felt they needed: important documents, pet food and other items.
On the driveway of their stucco and tile home in Yorba Linda, they watched the yellow and brown smoke cover the sky and took bites out of their frozen chocolate ice cream.
It’s the second time the Leitners had to deal with a brush fire on this canyon.
In 2008, a fire swept through the area and took out nearly two dozen homes. Leitner said he remembered using a hose to douse flames and protect his home.
The Orange County sheriff called for an immediate evacuation north of the 91 Freeway and east of Gypsum Canyon, including Bryant Ranch Elementary in Yorba Linda. Evacuations included the Bryant Ranch School, where students were shuttled to Esperanza High School in Anaheim. The city of Anaheim tweeted around 2:30 p.m. that the fire was estimated at 700 acres.
The National Weather Service in San Diego warned residents of Yorba Linda to be on “high alert” as the fire was being fueled by gusts of 35 to 45 mph. The city of Anaheim tweeted that the smell of smoke had permeated the air.
Winds in Chino Hills peaked at 78 mph Monday morning around 11 a.m., according to the National Weather Service.
Southern California Edison has shut off power in the area where the fire began.
The Silverado fire, a separate Orange County blaze that ignited near Irvine on Monday morning, had scorched 4,000 acres within a few hours, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.
