Santa Ana Winds Drive Brush Fires Across Los Angeles and Orange Counties, Forcing Thousands to Flee

Santa Ana Winds Drive Brush Fires Across Los Angeles and Orange Counties, Forcing Thousands to Flee

Norte fire jumps from 10 to 570 acres in hours

The Norte Fire broke out around 11:30 a.m. Friday near Portico Del Norte and Eminencia Del Norte in San Clemente, Orange County. The Orange County Fire Authority and CAL FIRE clocked it at about 10 acres around noon, 50 to 70 acres by 12:20 p.m., 250 acres shortly after 1 p.m. and 465 acres by about 2:30 p.m. Watch Duty put it at 570 acres shortly after 7:30 p.m. Containment stood at 0 percent.

Six homes damaged, eight seen burning on the ridge

OCFA Division Three Chief Mark Backhoff said six homes were damaged or destroyed, clustered around Avenida Calita, Via La Mirada and Via De Agua in San Juan Capistrano. San Clemente Mayor Rick Loeffler, citing city manager Andy Hall, told KNBC that at least eight homes were on fire along the ridgeline and that it "was starting to look very much like the Palisades situation." One firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion, with another report saying at least two. The cause is under investigation.

Dry offshore winds drove flames toward the coast

The National Weather Service had warned of the season's first moderate-to-strong Santa Ana event: northeast to east winds of 20 to 40 mph, gusts of 50 to 70 mph, isolated gusts of 70 to 90 mph at the peak, and relative humidity falling to 10 to 25 percent. "It's a pretty widespread event of elevated fire weather, so the whole SoCal region should really be on alert," NWS meteorologist Rose Schoenfeld told The Guardian. She noted the winds were not as strong as January's, when gusts ran 60 to 100 mph (96 to 160 kph). Los Angeles County emergency management director Kevin McGowan said the most critical hours were Friday afternoon and that fire weather would persist through Saturday night.

Malibu's Bryson fire slows after threatening 100 structures

The Bryson Fire started shortly before 5 p.m. Thursday on Encinal Canyon Road west of Mulholland Highway, reaching about 20 acres within half an hour. By 6 a.m. Friday it had burned 146.5 acres and was 17 percent contained, with roughly 100 structures threatened; by Friday evening it was about 147 acres and 39 percent contained, and no homes had burned. Orders covered Zuma and Trancas canyons, while warnings stretched from Malibu Road and Pacific Coast Highway to Leo Carrillo State Beach. The Associated Press reported the orders and warnings covered more than 12,000 people. The county probation department evacuated 38 youths from Camp Kilpatrick.

Camp Pendleton fire tops 2,000 acres and shuts I-5

The Henderson Fire started about 2 p.m. Thursday at Camp Pendleton in San Diego County, growing to 1,117 acres and then 1,404 acres; by Friday two fires on the base had burned more than 2,000 acres. The California Highway Patrol closed a 16-mile stretch of Interstate 5 through the base, from Harbor Drive in Oceanside to Basilone Road, shortly after 5 p.m. Thursday and reopened it before 6 p.m. SDG&E cut power in the Las Pulgas area at 4:40 p.m. at the direction of fire agencies, and the base's Las Pulgas Gate was closed to all but emergency vehicles. Near Azusa, the Peak Fire burned 43 acres and was 41 percent contained, with evacuation orders and warnings lifted; the Scales Fire burned 20 acres along I-5 in San Diego County.

Five evacuation zones, two shelters, at least 500 firefighters

Mandatory orders covered San Clemente zones 12 and 13 and San Juan Capistrano zones 4, 5 and 10. Local outlets reported about 6,000 homes and 16,000 residents under orders, while the governor's office said in its federal aid request that the fire threatened nearly 13,000 people. Shelters opened at the San Juan Capistrano Community Center, 25925 Camino del Avion, and the San Clemente Community Center, 100 Calle Seville. More than 500 firefighters were assigned, with 15 engines requested for structure protection and helicopters and air tankers working overhead.

Nearly 70,000 customers lose power

Southern California Edison reported 34,946 customers without power in Los Angeles County and 34,800 in Ventura County as of 7 a.m. Friday, 69,746 in total, under public safety power shutoffs. The utility had said it was weighing shutoffs for as many as 245,700 customers, its largest potential event this year.

Newsom declares emergency and secures federal aid

Governor Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency in Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties after Tropical Storm Rachel, and on Tuesday directed Cal OES and CAL FIRE to preposition firefighters, engines, aircraft and equipment ahead of the winds. On Friday the state secured a FEMA Fire Management Assistance Grant for the Norte Fire.

Winds ease Saturday, but the red flag warning holds

The red flag warning for much of Los Angeles and Ventura counties runs until 8 p.m. Saturday, with winds expected to slowly weaken through the day and temperatures to cool from Sunday, though critical fire weather conditions persist. The Norte Fire still had no reported containment as crews protected structures and built lines.