Caltrans Crew Sparks Santiago Canyon Brush Fire

A Caltrans crew working near Irvine Lake accidentally sparked a 214-acre brush fire that was 90 percent contained this afternoon, a fire captain said.

The evacuation orders for the lake’s campground and 15 other structures in an unincorporated area near Orange were lifted around 6:30 p.m., according to the Orange County Fire Authority, which had about 180 firefighters on the fire lines today.

Santiago Canyon Road was reopened at the same time, according to Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Steve Concialdi.

About 60 firefighters will be deployed Wednesday, mostly for “mop-up” duty, Concialdi said. At its height, there were about 350 firefighters battling the blaze.

A Caltrans crew mowing brush in the area of the 241 Eastern Transportation Corridor and Santiago Canyon Road Monday apparently struck some sort of object that caused sparks to ignite vegetation, according to Concialdi. The crew had a water truck following the mower, but its efforts to douse the flames failed, Concialdi said.

“They were doing everything right, but it goes to show you how dry the vegetation was ...” Concialdi said, adding “we’re in for a long, hard-fought summer and fall.”

The evacuation went into effect just before noon Monday and affected about 10 to 15 people at the campground. Fifteen structures -- including cabins -- were also evacuated, according to the OCFA, which reported the loss of the two former Irvine Ranch residences that had been scheduled to be demolished.

The Orange County Emergency Operations Center activated a public information hotline -- (714) 628-7085 -- for people to call for updates on the blaze.

City News Service

Photos: Orange County Fire Authority