Norte Fire burns 570 acres and seven homes in Orange County as Santa Ana winds drive Southern California fires

A wind-driven wildfire that started in San Clemente on Friday, October 16, burned 570 acres in Orange County and destroyed seven homes before firefighters brought it to 80% containment on Monday, October 19, according to Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) figures reported by CBS Los Angeles. The Norte Fire was the most destructive of several fires that broke out across Southern California during a Santa Ana wind event last week, NBC News reported. No deaths were reported in any of the fires in the coverage read. A lawsuit filed on Monday alleges that utility equipment started the Norte Fire; the utility says there is no basis for that conclusion, and the official cause has not been determined.

The Norte Fire

The fire was reported at about 11:30 a.m. on Friday in brush near Portico Del Norte in San Clemente, and strong winds pushed it into neighbouring San Juan Capistrano, according to ABC7 Los Angeles and FOX 11. At its height, OCFA Chief TJ McGovern said, about 16,000 residents were under mandatory evacuation orders, NBC News reported; ABC7 put the figure at 16,000 residents and 6,000 homes. NBC News said temperatures of 96 degrees and offshore winds of up to 30 mph drove the fire.

The orders were lifted on Saturday evening, October 17, according to ABC7 and CBS Los Angeles. About 800 personnel were deployed at the peak, FOX 11 reported, and crews have since begun repair work to limit erosion before forecast rain.

Homes and injuries: the counts moved

Reports of damage changed as assessments progressed. On Friday, officials said at least six homes had been damaged or destroyed, and FOX 11's October 18 update still cited six, along Avenida Calita, Via La Mirada and Via De Agua in San Juan Capistrano. CBS Los Angeles, citing OCFA on Monday, reported seven homes destroyed; ABC7's October 18 update gave at least seven structures burned.

Accounts of firefighter injuries also differ. ABC7's early reports said two firefighters were hospitalised with "significant injuries" and were stable. FOX 11 described two firefighters hospitalised with heat-related injuries who are recovering, and ABC7's later update listed one firefighter with heat exhaustion and another hospitalised.

Containment rose from 25% on Saturday evening to 60% on Sunday, ABC7 reported, and FOX 11 and CBS Los Angeles later reported 80%.

The lawsuit over the cause

Orange County law firm Bridgford, Gleason & Artinian sued San Diego Gas & Electric on behalf of a San Juan Capistrano resident who evacuated, CBS Los Angeles reported. The firm says SDG&E logged an outage at 11:31 a.m., within 100 to 200 feet of the ignition point, two minutes before firefighters began receiving reports of flames. The firm said it filed partly to preserve evidence.

SDG&E acknowledged the outage but said the cause is under investigation and that it is cooperating with OCFA, according to CBS Los Angeles. The utility said smoke and ash from fires can cause outages and that there is currently no basis to link its facilities to the ignition. OCFA has not announced a cause.

The other fires

NBC News reported several other fires during the same wind event:

• Bryson Fire, Malibu: It started just before 5 p.m. on Thursday, October 15, along Encinal Canyon Road in the Santa Monica Mountains, prompting evacuation orders for the Encinal, Trancas and Zuma Canyon areas. Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone estimated more than 100 structures were threatened. ABC7 reported it reached 147 acres and 39% containment, that no structures were damaged, and that evacuation orders and warnings were lifted on October 17. NBC News said one firefighter had minor injuries.
• Henderson Fire, Camp Pendleton: It burned 2,080 acres on the Marine Corps base in San Diego County and reached the shoulder of Interstate 5, which the California Highway Patrol closed for more than four hours.
• Peak Fire, Azusa: It burned 43 acres in the San Gabriel Mountains foothills and briefly prompted evacuation orders before its forward progress was stopped.

ABC7 reported early on October 19 that all red flag warnings had expired as the Santa Ana winds weakened, with a cooling trend expected. FOX 11 reported that California secured a federal Fire Management Assistance Grant for the Norte Fire.