Firefighters make gains on O. C. blazes

The Silverado and Blue Ridge f ires have burned 27,000- plus acres combined.

Two wind- driven f ires that forced nearly 100,000 people to evacuate in Orange County continued to burn Wednesday, raining smoke and ash on many parts of Southern California.

But as the f ierce Santa Ana winds that fueled the blazes eased, f irefighters gained the upper hand after two days of pitched battle defending subdivisions from Yorba Linda to Lake Forest.

Together, the Silverado and Blue Ridge f ires have consumed more than 27,000 acres, but only eight homes have been damaged. All evacuations in Irvine and Yorba Linda have been lifted. Evacuation orders for several canyon areas and parts of Lake Forest were still in place for the Silverado fire.

By Wednesday afternoon, containment had expanded to 16% on the Blue Ridge f ire and 25% on the Silverado fire, said Capt. Jason Fairchild of the Orange County Fire Authority.

Fairchild attributed the gains to improvements in the weather, including increased humidity and slowing winds.

“We had very favorable weather overnight, and we were able to get a lot more crews out and around the fire,” he said. “It’s going to be a good day for us, I think.”

Still of concern are two gravely injured f irefighters, ages 26 and 31, who were placed on ventilators after suffering second- and thirddegree burns on over half their bodies while battling the blazes. They remain in critical condition, Fairchild said.

Three other f irefighters were treated for minor injuries and released from the hospital.

Even people who live far from the f lames felt the effects of the Santa Ana wind storm, which saw gusts topping 90 mph Monday.

Winds carried ash and soot coating the ground from the Bobcat f ire earlier this month back into the skies, choking Southern California with air so bad it ranked the worst in the nation.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday said California, which is experiencing its worst f ire season on record, received a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency allowing 75% reimbursements for f ighting the Silverado and Blue Ridge fires.

More than 4 million acres have burned this year, and there have been at least 30 fatalities, Newsom said.