Ortega Highway Reopens, More Evacs Lifted Related To Holy Fire

LAKE ELSINORE, CA — Drivers can once again travel along SR-74/the Ortega Highway on Tuesday after a closure that lasted nearly one week due to the Holy Fire burning nearby. What's more, fire officials said evacuations have been lifted for more communities.

Here is the latest from the U.S. Forest Service regarding evacuations:

Evacuations for El Cariso Village and Rancho Capistrano have been lifted with the exception of the Mystic Oaks community near Long Canyon Road. The community of Trilogy in Temescal Valley remains under voluntary evacuation.

Returning residents, please note that power is off along Highway 74 and Southern California Edison is working diligently to restore power.

Blue Jay, Falcon and Los Pinos campgrounds remain closed. All Forest Service Trails leading into the burn area are closed.

Fire officials warned that though the fire is now 59 percent contained, "islands of unburned vegetation within the fire perimeter will continue to be visible from surrounding communities."

As of Tuesday morning, the Holy Fire has burned 22,986 acres, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Fire officials said they anticipate full containment of the blaze by Friday. A total of 18 homes have been destroyed in the blaze — 12 in Orange County and six in Riverside County.

• SEE ALSO: 51 Images That Show The Magnitude Of The Holy Fire From SWR

With firefighters appearing to be gaining the upper hand, Menifee Union School District schools reopened Monday, five days after their school year was supposed to begin. Other affected districts delayed their first days of school until next week. The Lake Elsinore Unified School District will go back on Monday.

Schools in the Corona-Norco Unified School District located south of the 91 Freeway and east of Border Avenue in Corona also pushed back the first day of school, until next Monday.

Firefighters were able to save a threatened school in the district, Rice Canyon Elementary, from flames, stopping them just before they reached the campus.

The city of Corona announced a day camp to help working parents of students this week. It will be open 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Fees are $110 for residents and $140 for non-residents, with priority for parents of students at fire-affected schools.

In Orange County, Trabuco and Holy Jim canyons remained under mandatory evacuation orders, and all campgrounds in the Trabuco Ranger District were closed. Back country fire roads were closed to hiking and bicycling, including Trabuco Creek, Maple Springs, North Main Divide, Bedford and Indian Truck Trail.

Although the number of evacuation orders continued to dwindle, an evacuation center remained open at Temescal Canyon High School, 28755 El Toro Road in Lake Elsinore.

More than 1,300 firefighters continued to battle the fire, which spread from Orange County's eastern mountains toward Santiago Peak, and over the mountains to the hills above Lake Elsinore.

Structure defense was expected to continue in areas still threatened by flames while mop up will be ongoing as crews bring the fire under control, officials said.

— Image by Mark Ritter / City News Service contributed to this report.