A wind-fed wildfire surged over the Anaheim Hills on Monday, burning several homes and forcing thousands to evacuate as fire crews struggled to battle the rapidly growing blaze.
The fire broke out around 9:20 a.m. near the 91 Freeway and Gypsum Canyon Road, and quickly leaped the California 241 toll road. It raced up a ridge and hit tract homes at the top of a hill. Several caught fire and continued to burn even as firefighters sprayed the structures with water.
Update: 24 structures lost in Orange County firestorm as mass evacuations continue>>
By 9 p.m., the blaze had scorched 6,000 acres and destroyed 24 structures. One firefighter had to be treated for smoke inhalation.
Two hours later, an Anaheim police spokesman said the fire was 5% contained. All evacuation orders were to remain in place overnight, he said, and it was “doubtful” residents would be allowed to go home Tuesday.
The Canyon No. 2 fire put an added drain on state firefighting resources as first responders battled more than a dozen blazes that erupted in Northern California on Sunday night, leaving 10 dead and destroying 1,500 structures.
By Tuesday, “we’re gonna be as stretched as we can be,” said Steven Beech, an incident commander with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Some residents found themselves racing out of their homes as the flames licked the edges of their neighborhood. Dio Compolongo, 22, said he operated “on total instinct” when he noticed the blaze was creeping close to his family’s residence in the Anaheim Hills. He rushed to stir his two younger sisters, both of whom were home sick from school, as he frantically checked websites to find an evacuation route.
“How do you know what to do in situations like this?” he asked after escaping to an Anaheim evacuation center about noon Monday.
Holding a cast-iron skillet passed down to him from his grandmother, Danny Williamson looks through the remains of his home that was destroyed on Via El Estribo.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)Anaheim firefighter Adriel Martinez rinses a hose as crews finish mop-up operations on Canyon Heights Drive, where numerous homes were destroyed.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)A water-dropping helicopter flies by an area of destroyed homes on Via El Estribo in Anaheim Hills.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)Neighbors console each other in front of one of the homes that burned on Canyon Heights Drive in Anaheim Hills.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)A San Bernardino County firefighter beaks apart rubble to douse hot spots at a burned home on Canyon Heights Drive in Anaheim Hills.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)A water-dropping helicopter helps fight the Canyon 2 fire over the Williamson family home in Anaheim Hills.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)Ashley Farajzadeh is distraught over the loss of her home on Canyon Heights Drive in Anaheim Hills.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)The Air attack on the Canyon 2 fire continues on the east side of Highway 241 toll road Tuesday morning.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)Part of the second floor and the roof collapsed in this Anaheim Hills home destroyed by fire.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)Adrian Pop, left, delivers croissants to Newport Beach firefighter Erin Brown as crews mop up in the Orange Park Acres neighborhood Tuesday morning.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)A DC-10 makes a drop as the Anahiem Hills fire rages along 241 and Santiago Canyon Rd in Orange.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)The fire smolders in Peters Canyon Regional Park in Orange.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)Firefighters work to control the spread of a wildfire in Anaheim Hills.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)Firefighters work to control the spread of a wildfire in Anaheim Hills.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)A home burns on Canyon Heights Drive in Anaheim Hills on Monday afternoon after embers caused the roof to catch on fire.
(Stuart Palley / For the Times)An aerial tanker makes a fire retardant drop on brush off Jamboree Road in Orange.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)A firefighter signals for engine operators to pressurize his hose while trying to keep embers on a burning home on Canyon Heights Drive from spreading to other houses on the street.
(Stuart Palley / For the Times)Firefighters work to control the spread of a wildfire in Anaheim Hills.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)A home burns on Canyon Heights Drive in Anaheim Hills on Monday.
(Stuart Palley / For the Times)Alicia Walker walks her horse, Gustav, to a nearby arena in Orange because he refused to get into a trailer specially built for him.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)Firefighters work to control the spread of a wildfire in Anaheim Hills off Jamboree Road.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)Capt. Chris Lingwall from Brea attempts to keep heat off the home next door which was not on fire. At least five structures in the area were involved in flames.
(Stuart Palley / For the Times)A helicopter drops water as it approaches homes in Anaheim Hills late Monday morning.
(Stuart Palley / For the Times)Capt. Chris Lingwall from Brea attempts to keep heat off the home next door, which was not on fire.
(Stuart Palley / For the Times)A firefighter looks up at a water dropping helicopter circling the fire at Peters Canyon Regional Park in Orange.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)Palm trees in Peters Canyon Regional Park burn.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)Todd Malind uses a hose to try and put out flames from Canyon fire No. 2 near homes in Anaheim Hills. Police eventually evacuated Malind and other residents.
(Stuart Palley / For the Times)A firefighter douses hotspots at a destroyed home in Anaheim Hills
(Stuart Palley / For The Times)A home burns on Canyon Heights Drive in Anaheim Hills on Monday afternoon after embers caused the roof to catch on fire.
(Stuart Palley / For the Times)Lynn Hall moves her horses, including a Shetland pony, to a nearby arena in Orange as a brushfire burns nearby.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)A fire truck makes it’s way down Jamboree road in the Anaheim Hills.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)A DC-10 prepares to makes a drop as the Anahiem Hills fire rages along 241 and Santiago Canyon Rd in Orange.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)A firefighter douses hotspots inside of a home in Anaheim Hills.
(Stuart Palley / For The Times)The fire in Anahiem Hills rages along 241 and Santiago Canyon Rd in Orange.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)Jason Dovetko uses a hose to try and put out flames near homes in Anaheim Hills.
(Stuart Palley / For the Times)An Erickson Air-Crane comes in to make a water drop near homes at Peters Canyon Regional Park in Orange.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)A home burns on Canyon Heights Drive in Anaheim Hills on Monday.
(Stuart Palley / For the Times)The plume of black smoke from the Anaheim Hills fire darkens the sky at the 57 and 91 freeway interchange.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)A homeowner watches the fire and smoke from behind his Kennymead Street home in Orange.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)A persons tops to take a photo of flames in Peters Canyon Regional Park.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)Keith Baca, 58, left and his brother Carey Baca, 58, help put out hot spots near Ridgeline Road and Amapola Avenue in Orange. They are tile contractors who were at a job in Santa Ana when they saw the smoke and came up to help.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)Smoke reduces visibility on Jamboree Road in Orange.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)Palm trees smolder in Peters Canyon Regional Park.
(Stuart Palley / For The Times)Homes in Anaheim hills threatened by fire Monday morning.
(Stuart Palley / For The Times)The plume of black smoke from the Anaheim Hills fire seen from the 57 freeway.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)The Canyon fire No. 2 as seen from Santiago Canyon Road and California 241 on Monday morning.
(Stuart Palley / For the Times)Firefighters battle the Canyon 2 fire after homes along Canyon Heights Drive in Anaheim Hills caught fire Monday.
(Stuart Palley / For the Times)Firefighters battle the Canyon 2 fire after homes along Canyon Heights Drive in Anaheim Hills caught fire Monday.
(Stuart Palley / For the Times)A home burns in an Anaheim hills neighborhood. Evacuations were ordered south of the 91 Freeway, west of the 241 Toll Road, north of Nohl Ranch Road and east of Serrano Avenue.
(KTLA)Firefighters are battling a brush fire that broke out in Anaheim Hills, prompting some mandatory evacuations. Evacuations were ordered south of the 91 Freeway, west of the 241 Toll Road, north of Nohl Ranch Road and east of Serrano Avenue.
(KTLA)Fire crews had not been able to contain any portion of the blaze Monday evening, said Sgt. Daron Wyatt, an Anaheim police spokesman, and strong winds were making it difficult to figure out where the flames might jump next.
“With the wind-driven event, this fire can change behavior very rapidly,” he said during a news briefing.
About 1,000 firefighters from multiple fire task forces are battling the blaze. Three helicopters were making water drops overnight, Wyatt said.
Overnight shelters were open at Katella and El Modena high schools.
Evacuations were ordered south of the 91 Freeway, west of the 241 toll road, north of Nohl Ranch Road and east of Serrano Avenue.
Tustin police also ordered residences north of Jamboree and Tustin Ranch roads to evacuate. Several elementary schools in the area were evacuated as well, with students moved to Canyon High School in Anaheim. Several regional parks were also closed as strong winds pushed smoke into Orange and Santa Ana.
Tustin Unified School District, along with Santiago Canyon College in Orange, canceled classes and activities at all school sites Tuesday.
At a strip mall downhill from the evacuated neighborhoods, a line snaked out from a nearby gas station. Residents of an assisted living facility filed into buses, and ambulances could be seen transporting residents away.
Families cast concerned glances up toward the smoke-covered hills, over which helicopters were ferrying water from a reservoir. Some used the area as a rendezvous point.
By the time Eric Schmidt, 48, had driven home from his job at Disney on Monday morning, police wouldn’t let him back into his neighborhood. Parents frantic to pick up their children at a nearby elementary school had taken to abandoning their cars and going to grab their children on foot.
Schmidt’s wife, Marigold, left their home with only their three dogs. His son Ethan walked from his high school and the family reunited at the strip mall parking lot.
“It came so fast you couldn’t even grab anything,” said Schmidt, who added his family didn’t have a change of clothes. A neighbor at the end of the cul-de-sac had told him the flames had reached his back yard. Houses lower on the hill were burning.
John Carmona, a retired welder in his early 70s, had to race out of his duplex as the smoky odor from the blaze rose.
“This intense wind doesn’t help. It’s only going to get worse,” he said. “I have no choice but to walk away.”
Carmona got to safety, but he had to leave behind his cocker spaniel, Cali, after he was unable to find the dog’s collar and leash.
Mandatory evacuations for #CanyonFire2 in effect for homes east of Serrano, north of Nohl Ranch, south of 91 fwy. pic.twitter.com/xJBtTE8L3U
— Anaheim Fire & Rescue (@AnaheimFire) October 9, 2017
Officials had set up a refuge for large animals at the Orange County Fairgrounds, and a specific staging area for horses at Yorba Regional Park in Anaheim. Evacuees needing an overnight shelter were being directed to the Downtown Anaheim Youth Center, the East Anaheim Community Center and El Modena High School in Orange.
Because of the speed of the fire, responders were not attacking the blaze directly, focusing instead on moving people out of its path, Beech said. Firefighters hoped to take a more direct approach against the blaze, which could allow them to stop its advance, if conditions become more favorable late Monday or early Tuesday, he said.
Winds were likely to calm down overnight, Wyatt said, but officials feared that low humidity and a return of strong gusts could pick back up and fuel the blaze Tuesday.
“We’re hoping that the weather goes in our favor,” he said.
Bob Hill said his trip to the doctor’s office to pick up cold medication was cut short by a text message from city officials warning him of the fire Monday morning. He immediately contacted his wife.
“Get out. Get the pictures and get out,” he wrote in a frantic text.
Hill, 66, said he had already lost a home in Chatsworth during a 2008 wildfire. As he watched the potential path of Monday’s fire on television, he remained calm despite fearing he might lose another.
“I’ve faced this before,” he said. “What else can I do?”
Smoke coming from #Canyon2 fire in #AnaheimHills. Wind is blowing hard. #GypsumCanyon exit closed off 91E. pic.twitter.com/bFDOGwiZYG
— Greg Lee (@abc7greg) October 9, 2017
#CanyonFire2 #Canyon2Fire from Choc 😱 pic.twitter.com/kzXDa4FOJJ
— Angela Royval (@AJR1976) October 9, 2017
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UPDATES:
11:30 p.m.: This article was updated with containment numbers and other information from a news briefing.
9:15 p.m.: This article was updated with updated acreage and evacuation numbers.
6:10 p.m.: This article was updated with additional comments from evacuees and fire officials.
5 p.m.: This article was updated with information from a news briefing with fire officials.
3:30 p.m.: This article was updated with additional information about evacuation centers and the fire’s spread.
2:20 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from evacuees in the Anaheim area.
1:10 p.m.: This article was updated with additional information about evacuation orders and structure damage.
12:25 p.m.: This article was updated with additional information about the advance of the fire and the amount of structures threatened.
This article was first published at 11:40 a.m.
