The Airport Fire Pushes Toward Lake Elsinore

INCIDENT DATE/TIME: 9-10-24, 3PM
LOCATION: LOS PINOS FIRE CENTER.CAMP
AREA/CITY: ORTEGA HIGHWAY
DETAILS:

LAKE ELSINORE  – A rapidly expanded brush fire that began in Orange County pushed toward Riverside County Tuesday, prompting evacuation orders and warnings for some residents near Lake Elsinore.

Many neighborhoods in the general area of the 9,300-acre Airport Fire were already under evacuation warnings as the blaze spread. But early Tuesday afternoon, mandatory evacuation orders were issued for an area generally north of the San Diego County line, east of the Orange County line, south of Lake Elsinore near the base of Ortega Highway and west of South Main Divide Road/Grand Avenue.

An evacuation center was established at Santiago High School, 1395 E. Foothill Parkway, Corona. Large animals can be taken to the Jurupa Valley Animal Shelter, 6851 Van Buren Blvd., according to the Riverside County Fire Department.

An interactive map of evacuation areas for residents to determine if they are affected was available online at https://go.genasys.com/v7iaww.

The Corona-Norco Unified School District opted to close Wilson, Temescal Valley and Todd elementary schools Tuesday due to the proximity of the fire and the resulting poor air quality. All schools in the Lake Elsinore Unified School District were also closed, and all before- and after-school activities were canceled. A college and career fair that had been scheduled by the district Tuesday evening was also canceled.

The Airport Fire began about 1 p.m. Monday near Trabuco Canyon Road in the area of the remote-controlled airplane airport, said Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Sean Doran.

As of Tuesday morning, the blaze had expanded to 9,300 acres “and is growing,” Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Steve Concialdi said.

“It has crested the north main divide and gone into Riverside County,” Concialdi said.

The blaze was also bearing down on Santiago Peak, which is home to a series of radio and television broadcast towers, used not only by local media outlets but also federal and local government agencies.

Concialdi said crews were working to protect the peak by had to withdraw from the area because the flames got “too intense.”

The blaze, which had zero containment as of Tuesday afternoon, was still burning through “dense vegetation,” but was “burning toward Ortega Highway,” where there are residences, Concialdi said.

Ortega Highway was closed between Grand Avenue and Nichols Institute. The area had been under a voluntary evacuation warning, but late Tuesday morning, mandatory evacuation orders were issued for areas along the highway near Caspers Park.

A mandatory evacuation order was previously issued for the Robinson Ranch community in Rancho Santa Margarita. Voluntary evacuation warnings were in place for residents on Rose Canyon Road, Trabuco Creek Road, Trabuco Canyon Road, Trabuco Oaks Drive, Joplin Loop and Cook’s Corner. Evacution warnings were issued Tuesday for Silverado and Modjeska canyons.

A “care and reception shelter” for Orange County evacuees was established at the Rancho Santa Margarita Bell Tour Regional Community Center, 22232 El Paseo. Large animals can be sheltered at the Orange County Fair Grounds, 88 Fair Drive in Costa Mesa.

Officials said “much of the terrain is steep and extremely difficult to access,” putting increased reliance on water- and retardant-dropping aircraft.

There were no reports of any serious injuries or structural damage.

Orange County Fire Authority Deputy Chief TJ McGovern told reporters Monday night that the fire was accidentally sparked by a county work crew. McGovern said Orange County Public Works crews were working in the area near Trabuco Creek Road, using heavy equipment to place boulders meant to replace barriers used to restrict access to the vegetation.

“The fire is classified as unintentional. The cause of the fire was a spark from heavy equipment,” McGovern said. “After placing a load of boulders, the operators began seeing smoke coming from the area of the loader’s basket.”

“The operator and the supervisor used multiple fire extinguishers and the loaders to attempt to extinguish the fire while 911 was being called.”

He said that when crews initially arrived on scene, “they recorded a half-acre vegetation fire on both sides of the road and that there was a potential for a large, major incident right off the get go. Crews immediately requested multiple additional resources to help from outside of our county, to our neighboring counties and to our region.”

The OCFA was using new firefighting helicopters that can dump 1,000 gallons of water on the flames, Doran said.

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