'Moonscape': Airport fire evacuees wait, and hope the blaze spares them

The Airport fire, which sparked Monday in Orange County's Trabuco Canyon, has gained ferocity. On Wednesday, the fire was still burning out of control as it moved into Riverside County, scorching tens of thousands of acres and burning homes.

Although fire officials didn't have specific numbers on structures burned, they told The Times that multiple homes had been affected.

Joel Pavelka, who lives in the small mountain town of El Cariso, was trying to stay upbeat.

“I am crossing my fingers, we are OK for now,” said Pavelka as he watched smoke billow over the Santa Ana Mountains near the spot where he has lived for 20 years.

The small, tight-knit Riverside County community sits in the heart of Cleveland National Forest, home to campgrounds and trails across the scenic mountainside. To the west lies the Pacific Ocean and to the east is Lake Elsinore. Over the years, wildfires have burned the mountains.

On Wednesday afternoon at Lake Elsinore Market, as the sun began to set, the silhouette of helicopters dropping water from the nearby lake could be seen.

Pavelka and a small group of evacuees had been camped out for more than day watching the winds whip up hot spots near their homes and getting reports from neighbors who had stayed behind. Smoke filled the air, and the glow of the fire colored the landscape a hazy orange.

The Airport fire began unintentionally with a spark from heavy equipment as rocks were being moved in the Trabuco Canyon foothills. Since Monday, it has burned more than 20,000 acres, with 0% containment, while two other major fires burned in San Bernardino County and the Angeles National Forest.

More than 5,000 homes were under evacuation orders in Riverside County, affecting over 19,000 residents, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Division Chief Todd Hopkins said at a Wednesday news conference.

At the market, the evacuees sat on fold-out chairs outside a camper.

“I am glad you're OK, Barbara,” said a man passing by the group.

Barbara Shea-Han, who owns the Lookout Roadhouse on Ortega Highway in Lake Elsinore, is well-known in the area. She said her house and restaurant were still standing, but many of her neighbors hadn't been so lucky.

“It’s awful. My house burned down" many years ago, she said. "I know exactly how they feel. It is debilitating.”

Shea-Han had been out running errands down the mountain in Irvine on Tuesday morning. When she returned, Ortega Highway, the only road to get to her home, had been shut down. She tagged along with a news crew to sneak back up to the community.

“Looking at the vegetation, it looks like a moonscape with trees. All you see is rocks and earth,” she said. “It will be weeks before we can get the restaurant back open.”

And perhaps days before they can sleep in their beds.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times .