25K EVACUATE AS ORANGE COUNTY FIRE RAGES
Exacerbated by wind gusts of up to 70 mph and extremely dry conditions, a fastmoving wildfire spread to more than 7,200 acres in Southern California on Thursday, forcing the evacuation of 25,000 residents, officials said.
Two firefighters with the U.S. Forest Service were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries that they suffered Thursday while trying to contain the Bond fire, which had begun the previous night in the Santa Ana Mountains of Orange County, authorities said.
Fire officials attributed the spread of the Bond fire to the fierce Santa Ana winds.
On Wednesday, several hours before the wildfire began, the Orange County Fire Authority had placed the county under a red flag warning and urged residents to be aware of increasing fire danger because of dry, windy conditions.
The blaze began as a house fire in Silverado and quickly spread to the surrounding area, fire officials said. The cause was under investigation.
As of Thursday evening, about 25,000 people had been evacuated in several communities northeast of Irvine, according to emergency responders, who said that there was no containment of the fire.
“We know that a number of houses have been damaged, potentially destroyed,” Brian Fennessy, the Orange County Fire Authority chief, said during an afternoon news conference.
Fennessy said that more than 500 firefighters were battling the flames and that more than 30 agencies were involved in the effort, which included fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters.
He urged residents of the affected communities, some of which were still reeling from a wildfire in October, to use their common sense when deciding whether to evacuate.
“You don’t have to wait for us to call,” Fennessy said. “If there’s any doubt, please evacuate.”
Greta Gustafson, a spokesperson for the American Red Cross in Orange County, said Thursday that the organization had provided hotel rooms to 170 evacuees. The Red Cross had set up a temporary evacuation point at a local high school, she said.