Fast-moving Airport fire erupts near homes in Orange County; three people injured

A fast-moving brush fire that erupted in Orange County on Monday afternoon has expanded to 1,900 acres, injuring three people and prompting evacuations in Trabuco Canyon.

The blaze, dubbed the Airport fire, started about 1:30 p.m. along the 32200 block of Trabuco Creek Road near a field in Trabuco Canyon for remote-controlled airplanes. By 2 p.m., it had burned at least seven acres . By 4 p.m., it had grown to 800 acres and half an hour later was already at 1,300 acres, according to fire officials.

The fire, at 0% containment as of 8 p.m. Monday, was heading up the canyon and away from nearby communities in Robinson Ranch, Orange County Fire Authority Deputy Chief TJ McGovern said at a news conference Monday evening.

Fire investigators determined the fire was unintentional, caused by a spark from heavy equipment used by workers to place large boulders on Trabuco Creek Road, McGovern said.

"They were moving boulders to block access to the vegetation ... to keep people out because of the weather we have right now, and the fuels are getting to that point," he said.

Two firefighters sustained heat-related injuries and were transported to a local hospital. One civilian was transported to a local hospital due to smoke inhalation.

About 1,000 firefighters were on the scene, McGovern said, and no properties had been damaged.

Firefighters were attacking the blaze from the ground and air using water-dropping helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. The focus has been on protecting nearby homes, said Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Sean Doran.

"We're focusing our resources on defending those communities," he said. "We have a heavy presence to make sure, if there's any homes or people threatened, that's our first priority."

The Orange County Sheriff's Department encouraged residents living along Rose Canyon Road, Trabuco Creek Road, Trabuco Canyon Road, Trabuco Oaks Drive, Joplin Loop and Cook's Corner to evacuate. Homes in the Robinson Ranch and Trabuco Highlands communities in Trabuco Canyon were under mandatory evacuation orders.

A temporary evacuation center was set up at Lake Forest Sports Park, at 28000 Vista Terrace, until 10 p.m. Monday. A long-term shelter was established at the Bell Tower Regional Community Center, at 22232 El Paseo in Rancho Santa Margarita. A large-animal shelter was established at 88 Fair Drive in Costa Mesa.

An air quality alert due to increased fine particle pollution from the wildfire smoke was in effect until 11 p.m. Tuesday across Orange County inland areas and the Inland Empire.

Corona-Norco Unified School District announced that Wilson Elementary, Temescal Valley Elementary and Todd Elementary will be closed Tuesday along with their after-school programs because of poor air quality due to the Airport fire. The district, which consists of about 50 schools, also canceled outdoor activities and athletics at all schools until further notice.

The fire started amid an extended heat wave that had scorched Southern California for days. Temperatures in the Orange County canyon community reached into the high 90s Monday afternoon, and an excessive heat warning was in place through Tuesday night, said Sam Zuber, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Diego.

Firefighters in the area weren't expected to see much relief overnight. Temperatures were expected to linger in the 70s with only about 35% humidity, Zuber said.

An excessive heat warning was in effect until 8 p.m. Tuesday throughout Orange County inland areas, according to the National Weather Service.

The fire was burning so intensely that it created pyrocumulonimbus clouds, also known as thunder clouds. Those clouds, which can create strong winds and lightning strikes, also were seen over the weekend above the Line fire burning in San Bernardino County.

"It doesn't look like there's any lightning within the cloud yet," Zuber said. "But, unfortunately, this is just beginning so if it gets stronger, hotter, larger, it's definitely not out of the question."

Nicole Bennigsdorf, 40, has lived in the foothills of Trabuco Canyon for more than 12 years, during which she has experienced about five fires in the area. But never has a fire come close enough to her Rancho Santa Margarita home for her to see actual flames burning.

“I can see the red orange amber on the ridge, which I’ve never seen before,” she said, standing outside her home about seven miles south of the fire.

After Bennigsdorf began seeing news of the fire on social media platform X on Monday afternoon, she stepped outside around 3 p.m. to hot, muggy air and a large plume of smoke in the distance.

“It was a very defined plume, very dark, and it was much windier outside than it was at 2 p.m., and the base [of the fire] just grew wider, wider and wider,” she said.

By 4 p.m., the sounds of helicopters flying in and out of the smoke filled the neighborhood as she saw three or four aircraft at a time, dropping water and retardant on the fire.

“This is the largest [fire] I’ve seen and it’s definitely been the hottest and muggiest weather we’ve had and it’s just made it brutal out here,” she said. “I’m drenched in sweat just standing still outside."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times .