A fire that broke out in Orange County on Monday afternoon grew to roughly 800 acres in two hours and prompted evacuations.
The blaze, dubbed the Airport fire, started about 1:30 p.m. along the 32200 block of Trabuco Creek Road near a remote-controlled airplane airport in Trabuco Canyon. By 2 p.m., it had burned at least 7 acres but grew to 292 acres by 3 p.m. An hour later it had grown to 800 acres, according to fire officials.
“Firefighters are attacking the fire from the ground and the air,” the Orange County Fire Authority wrote in a post on X. “This includes engine strike teams, handcrews, dozers, helicopters, and fixed wing aircraft.”
The Orange County Sheriff‘s Department encouraged residents living along Rose Canyon Road, Trabuco Creek Road, Trabuco Canyon Road, Trabuco Oaks Drive, Joplin Loop and Cook’s Corner to evacuate. Homes in the Robinson Ranch community in Trabuco Canyon are under mandatory evacuation orders.
A temporary evacuation center has been set up at the Lake Forest Sports Complex at 28000 Vista Terrace in Lake Forest.
Officials have not determined the cause of the fire.
The fire started amid an extended heat wave that has scorched Southern California for days. Temperatures in the Orange County canyon community reached triple digits Monday afternoon and an excessive heat warning was in place through Tuesday night, according to the National Weather Service.