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The Airport Fire in Trabuco Canyon exploded in size Tuesday to scorch over 20,000 acres at 0% containment largely due a "wind phenomenon," officials said.
The fire is currently burning 22,376 acres as of Wednesday afternoon, according to Cal Fire.
The Elsinore effect, which can cause erratic fire behavior as a result of steep mountains and precarious weather patterns, further fanned flames downhill.
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"You will have up canyon winds that are normal during the day, and then around 2, 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the winds usually will become a down canyon wind in Lake Elsinore," Cal Fire Battalion Chief Todd Hopkins explained in a news conference Tuesday.
Posing more threats to firefighters, the flames now entered the steep, hard-to-reach terrain.
"My understanding is the fire has jumped the Ortega Highway and is now working into Decker Canyon," Brian Fennessy, Fire Chief of the Orange County Fire Authority, said. "Anybody that knows anything about Decker Canyon and Riverside County knows that that is a very difficult place to fight fire."
Despite firefighters’ overnight efforts, more than 3,000 homes were threatened by the wildfire, prompting additional mandatory evacuations in the area.
Two firefighters were recovering after suffering heat-related injuries, officials said.
How it started
The Airport Fire was reported at around 1:15 p.m. Monday on Trabuco Creek Road near an remote-controlled airplane airport, went from scorching 7 acres to over 2,000 acres within a few hours.
The wildfire was caused unintentionally by heavy equipment that workers were using to move boulders along Trabuco Creek Road, officials said. Despite workers' effort to stop the spread with their fire extinguishers, the fire took off amid breezy, dry conditions.
Evacuation orders, warnings
Additional mandatory evacuations were issued Tuesday for areas along Ortega Highway near Caspers Park, officials with the Orange County Fire Authority said.
And more neighborhoods were under evacuation warnings, including Silverado Canyon and Modjeska Canyon.
See the map of areas under evacuation orders, warnings here.
As the heavy smoke from the fire has blanketed the area, neighbors scrambled to pack up and get to safety.
“I couldn’t think in that moment. I just grabbed my dog, and that’s it, Fernando Garcia said after leaving her home.
While the fire was burning away from the homes Tuesday, there is no word when people would be allowed to return.
“I hope they get a good handle on it today. I know they’ll have a lot of resources on it today because there are more homes around this way," Laurie Nowocinski, who evacuated her Robinson Ranch home, said.
Road closures
The following roads were closed to the public as fire crews battled the flames.
- Plano Trabuco and Joshua Drive
- Plano Trabuco and Robinson Ranch
- Antonio and Alas de Paz
- Trabuco Canyon and Trabuco Creek
- Santa Margarita and Antonio
- Santiago Canyon Road and Live Oak Canyon Road
Shelters
A temporary shelter is set up at the Lake Forest Sports Park located at 28000 Vista Terrace in Lake Forest, available to provide assistance until 10 p.m. Monday.
A long-term care shelter was established at the Bell Tower Regional Community Center at 22232 El Paseo, Rancho Santa Margarita.
