Santiago Fire 100 Percent Contained, Power Outages Possible

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, CA — A fire resulting from a single car crash burned multiple acres on the north side of Santiago Canyon early Thursday morning. Orange County Fire Authority reported a full knockdown of the fire at 9 a.m., and reached full containment that afternoon.

The collision that sparked the blaze occurred shortly before 4 a.m., Thursday, on the northbound State Route 241 near Santiago Canyon Road, according to California Highway Patrol. The vehicle was fully engulfed in flames, and ignited a vegetation fire along the nearby hillside. Over the next three hours, OCFA and Orange firefighters "got the upper hand on the fire," and Good Samaritans helped pull the driver out of danger before emergency crews arrived at the scene, according to CHP reports.

The driver of that car, Eric Lopez, 26, of Orange, was booked on suspicion of DUI, said California Highway Patrol Officer John DeMatteo. Lopez, who refused to take DUI tests, was taken to Orange County Global Medical Center to be treated for a broken collar bone, DeMatteo said.

Extremely dry fuels, and expected strong Santa Ana winds and low humidity, is recipe for major fire events, Holaday told Patch. That has led the OCFA to upstaff their reserve firefighting crews. Over 120 firefighters are on hand for rapid response to any wildfire in the county, according to Holaday.

Potential Power Shut Offs For Orange County

An SCE spokesperson said the potential additional shutoffs involve over 23,000 customers:

• Irvine, Orange, Villa Park, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, Santa Ana, Tustin, Rancho Santa Margarita
• Unincorporated areas including El Modena, Trabuco Canyon, and Robinson Ranch, within Irvine Regional Park, Panorama Heights, Cowan Heights Map 1, Cowan Heights Map 2, Orange Park Estates, Orange Park Acres, Coal Canyon

More info on the "public safety power shutoffs" program can be found at www.sce.com

In the area of the Santiago Fire, Caltrans reported that Southern California Edison had "de-energized various circuits in North Orange County" at just after 6:30 a.m. Thursday.

"This will have impacts to the lighting on SR-241 and SR-261," Caltrans said in a statement. "Please drive safely and treat any flashing red signals as a stop sign."

Edison officials said earlier in the week that the utility was considering precautionary power shut offs to de-energize power lines in danger of being damaged or downed by strong winds, potentially sparking wildfires.