Strong Santa Ana winds swept across Southern California on Friday and Saturday, driving brush fires in San Clemente, Malibu and Azusa and forcing thousands of residents from their homes, according to ABC7 Los Angeles. The winds also triggered public safety power shutoffs that left more than 90,000 customers in Los Angeles and Ventura counties without electricity.
The largest of the blazes, the Norte Fire, broke out around 11:30 a.m. Friday near Portico Del Norte in San Clemente and spread quickly into neighboring San Juan Capistrano. By the time officials with the Orange County Fire Authority and CAL FIRE released their latest figures, the fire had burned at least 570 acres, destroyed six homes, injured two firefighters and prompted evacuation orders covering roughly 16,000 residents and 6,000 homes. It remained 0% contained.
Why it matters
The fires arrived under a Red Flag Warning that the National Weather Service extended until 8 p.m. Saturday for parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, including the Santa Monica Mountains, the San Gabriel Mountains, the Interstate 5 corridor and the foothills of the Antelope Valley. A Heat Advisory was also in place through the same hour. Together, the wind and heat created the kind of conditions that let embers travel far ahead of a fire line and overwhelm ground crews.
The outages added a second layer of disruption. At their peak, more than 100,000 Southern California Edison customers in Los Angeles and Ventura counties lost power as the utility cut service to reduce the risk of its equipment igniting new fires. Some neighborhoods went without streetlights or working traffic signals. Residents who lost electricity turned to generators or used their electric vehicles as backup power.
Crews fight the Norte Fire from the air and ground
Firefighters attacked the Norte Fire from both helicopters and the ground, but the wind limited how much either could accomplish. Steve Concialdi, a captain with the Orange County Fire Authority, told ABC7 Los Angeles that aircraft dropping water and retardant can only do so much against a wind-driven blaze.
Residents near the fire described how quickly flames reached their streets. Bessy, who lives on Calle Miramar, said her backyard trees caught fire and the flames grew intense. She lives a short distance from a hillside where crews worked to put out spot fires after embers from a home along Camino Las Ramblas started additional blazes.
Neighbors Zack Lugassi and Andy Auerbach joined the effort with garden hoses and buckets of water. Lugassi said he and others sprayed the roof and sides of a house to keep it from catching. Auerbach described moving from one small fire to the next as embers blew into yards, comparing the work to a game of whack-a-mole.
Evacuation orders pushed thousands of people out of their homes, and some went to the San Juan Capistrano Community Center. Zachary Torgesson, who left the home he has lived in for 16 years, said he was placing the outcome in God's hands.
The fire also knocked out power to more than 600 customers in Orange County. One resident told ABC7 Los Angeles that communication about restoration had been poor, saying the utility had promised electricity by 7 p.m. and that residents now did not know whether they needed to clear out their refrigerators. Fire officials asked residents in the area to conserve water and said crews expected to stay for several days to finish suppression and cleanup.
Malibu and Azusa fires
In Malibu, the Bryson Fire broke out Thursday afternoon and had burned 147 acres by Friday evening, with containment at 39%, according to ABC7 Los Angeles. In Azusa, the Peak Fire stopped its forward advance, the outlet reported.
The shutoffs hit Topanga Canyon residents early. Ryan Monahan said his power had been out since Thursday evening, and he was hoping for restoration by Saturday. He and others in the dark zones drove to restaurants outside the affected areas to eat, and those businesses were crowded. Many residents said they understood why the utility cut service but found the experience difficult.
What to watch
Forecasters' Red Flag Warning and Heat Advisory both run until 8 p.m. Saturday, and the High Wind Warning for the Santa Ana Mountains and foothills lasts until noon Saturday. Whether the Norte Fire gains containment and when Edison restores power to the remaining affected customers are the next developments to track.
