Norte Fire continues to burn in San Juan Capistrano, leaving homes destroyed; evacuations remain
The Norte Fire, which devastated parts of San Juan Capistrano on Friday, continued to burn on Saturday morning as crews worked to gain a hold of the blaze while evacuation orders remained in place.
According to the Orange County Fire Authority on Friday night, the fire spanned about 570 acres.
The OCFA said the fire, which was first reported around 11:30 a.m. Friday, was at 5% containment on Saturday morning. OCFA Public Information Officer Greg Barta said firefighters attacked the fire overnight, gaining containment.
"Our actions today will be to continue to attack the fire and work towards getting residents home as soon as it's safe to do so," Barta said.
Speaking to reporters just before 8:30 a.m. Saturday, OCFA Captain Steve Concialdi said he expects the containment to increase "dramatically" throughout the day.
Evacuation orders and warnings remained in place on Saturday morning. At least six homes were damaged or destroyed in the fire on Friday, the OCFA confirmed.
"I've lived here since 1995, and this is the first time we've really ever had a fire in this area," resident Robert Morris said. "It's a wake-up call."
Two firefighters were hospitalized with significant injuries but are in stable condition, according to the OCFA. One has since been released, while the other is doing "very good," according to Concialdi. No civilians were injured.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday that the state secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to "make additional resources available to support response efforts to the Norte Fire."
"California is taking decisive action to support our firefighters and protect communities as dangerous winds and dry conditions fuel wildfire threats," Newsom said. "By securing this federal assistance, we are ensuring our local and state partners have the critical resources they need to aggressively fight the Norte Fire, protect lives and property, and keep Californians safe."
Evacuation information
Evacuation orders have been issued for San Juan Zones 4, 5 and 10. They have also been issued for San Clemente Zones 12 and 13.
"Follow the evacuation orders because we never know when the wind will change," County Supervisor Katrina Foley said. "That's what we saw during the Airport Fire. We don't want anyone to get hurt."
Evacuation shelters:
- San Juan Capistrano Community Center at 25925 Camino del Avion, San Juan Capistrano
- San Clemente Community Center at 100 Calle Seville, San Clemente
Red Flag Warning
The National Weather Service issued a Red Flag Warning that is set to remain in effect through at least 8 p.m. Saturday.
The warning says high Santa Ana winds combined with dry conditions has created high fire danger, resulting in blazes like the Norte Fire.
A CBS LA Next Weather Alert is active through Saturday evening due to the high fire danger. Winds are expected to die down noticeably by the evening hours.
Outages and Road Closures
San Diego Gas and Electric, which operates the power utilities in the area, said an outage that started at 11:31 a.m. affected about 496 customers during the fire.
Another outage that affected 2,351 customers near the fire appeared later in the afternoon.
As a precaution, Santa Margarita Water District asked residents in the area to conserve water.
"Our firefighters have had no issues getting water onto this fire," OCFA Chief TJ McGovern said. "I know that the Santa Margarita Water District is asking all residents to follow their standard wildfire protocol ... Again, we have no issues, and this is a precautionary measure."
The California Highway Patrol closed the Ortega Highway onramp to the southbound 5 Freeway. Authorities asked people to avoid the area.
The northbound 5 Freeway through San Diego County was closed earlier in the day for another fire, but it was reopened by 5:30 p.m.
"We just need people to stay off the I-5, stay off the freeway because it's impacted," Foley said.