Airport fire in Orange County: Evacuations, road closures, shelters

The Airport fire is burning near homes in south Orange County and Riverside County and has forced evacuations. Here are details on the fire.

The fire

The blaze started about 1:30 p.m. Monday along the 32200 block of Trabuco Creek Road near a field in Trabuco Canyon for remote-controlled airplanes. The fire expanded rapidly to more than 9,300 acres by Tuesday afternoon as it raced into the Santa Ana Mountains, fueled by extreme heat. The fire's containment was listed at 0% on Tuesday.

Evacuations

Homes in the Robinson Ranch and Trabuco Highlands communities are under mandatory evacuation orders. The Highlands apartment complex, Blue Jay Campground and Caspers Regional Park are also under mandatory evacuation orders.

Residents in the surrounding communities, including Silverado Canyon, Modjeska Canyon and Coto De Caza, should also be prepared to evacuate if conditions worsen. The Orange County Sheriff's Department is encouraging residents living along a number of roads where the fire poses a threat to evacuate, including:

• Rose Canyon Road
• Trabuco Creek Road
• Trabuco Canyon Road
• Trabuco Oaks Drive
• Joplin Loop
• Cook’s Corner

In Riverside County, the area to the north of the South Main Divide, south of Temescal Canyon Road, east of the Orange County-Riverside County line, and west of Lake Street-Grand Avenue are under mandatory evacuation orders.

Road closures

The Orange County Fire Authority says roads are closed at these intersections:

• Plano Trabuco Road and Joshua Drive
• Plano Trabuco and Robinson Ranch roads
• Antonio Parkway and Alas de Paz
• Trabuco Canyon and Trabuco Creek roads
• Santa Margarita and Antonio parkways
• Santiago Canyon and Live Oak Canyon roads
• Ortega Highway east of the Nichols Institute to Grand Avenue in Lake Elsinore

Shelters

A long-term shelter has been established at the Bell Tower Regional Community Center at 22232 El Paseo in Rancho Santa Margarita.

A large-animal shelter has been established at the Orange County Fairgrounds at 88 Fair Drive in Costa Mesa. The Los Alamitos Race Course at 4961 Katella Ave. in Cypress and the Nohl Ranch Saddle Club at 6352 E. Nohl Ranch Road in Anaheim also has space for large animals.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times .