Two fires in Orange County, Calif. have burned over 27,000 acres

Update on the Blue Ridge and Silverado fires

Updated October 29, 2020   |    8:16 a.m. PDT

The map shows the perimeters of the Blue Ridge and Silverado Fires, mapped between 8:00 and 8:30 p.m. PDT Oct. 28, 2020. You can zoom in and move around on the map.

Evacuation updates from the Orange County Fire Authority at about 4 p.m. October 28:

Blue Ridge Fire:
•All evacuation orders and warnings related to the Blue Ridge Fire have been lifted effective immediately.

Silverado Fire:
•All evacuation orders are lifted in the City of Irvine
•Some evacuation zones still remain in place for the City of Lake Forest
•Some evacuation zones are lifted for unincorporated areas of Orange County near El Toro Road and Valley Vista

Refer to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department interactive evacuation map for details.

Southern California Edison said it is investigating whether electrical equipment may have caused the Silverado fire. The company reported to the state Public Utilities Commission that a “lashing wire” attached to a third-party telecommunications line may have struck a primary conductor.


October 28, 2020   |    11:16 a.m. PDT

Map of Blue Ridge and Silverado Fires
Map of Blue Ridge and Silverado Fires Oct 28, 2020

On Tuesday firefighters working on the two large wildfires in Orange County California had their hands full doing their best to contain the Silverado and Blue Ridge Fires.

Strong winds pushed the Blue Ridge Fire west where it approached Gas County Road on the east side of Yorba Linda, and also to the north toward Chino Hills and Soquel Canyon Parkway. As the wind direction shifted during the day firefighters on the east side battled, mostly successfully, to keep it from crossing Highway 71 just north of Highway 91.

The Silverado Fire near Irvine has remained west and south of Santiago Canyon Road. Firefighters conducted a firing operation overnight on the southeast side of the fire.

Tuesday night after 11 p.m. the wind decreased substantially and there was very little significant spread of either fire the rest of the night.

The two fires are being managed under one organization by CAL FIRE Incident Management Team 6 that assumed command at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department website has the latest information about evacuations.

The latest mapping shows the Silverado Fire at 13,354 acres and the Blue Ridge Fire at 14,334 acres.

The map below shows heat detected by an aircraft on the Blue Ridge Fire in Orange, County, California at 10 p.m. PDT Oct. 27, 2020. Most of the vegetation is light, such as grass or brush, and cools a few hours after burning. The fire perimeter is not shown. Yellow is scattered heat, red is isolated heat, and the small brown area is intense heat. You can zoom in and move around on the map.

Status of the two injured firefighters

The two firefighters that were seriously injured Monday on the Silverado Fire, suffering second and third degree burns, are still in critical condition. Their names have not been released. The firefighters were intubated when they were admitted to the hospital, but they are still fighting, Orange County Fire Authority Chief Brian Finnessy said Wednesday morning.

I asked the Chief if there was an address to which we could send cards or letters to the firefighters and their families.

“The families would be so grateful to receive cards or letters,” the Chief said. “They are just now realizing how the fire and aviation family comes together during times like this.”

Here is the address:

OCFA
Attn: Injured OCFA Hand Crew Firefighters
1 Fire Authority Road
Irvine, CA 92602

Let’s flood them with kindness, cards, and letters.

Blue Ridge Fire grows to 15,200 acres near Yorba Linda, California

Structures on the east side of Yorba Linda are threatened

Updated October 27, 2020   |   5:33 p.m. PDT

map Blue Ridge and Silverado Fires
Map showing heat detected by satellites on the Blue Ridge and Silverado Fires at 2:46 p.m. PDT Oct. 27, 2020.

In a briefing late Tuesday afternoon Orange County Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy said the Blue Ridge Fire had burned 15,200 acres, and 2,500 homes have been evacuated; 10 homes have been damaged.  Some of those evacuated areas will be repopulated soon, the Chief said.

(To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Blue Ridge Fire, including the most recent, click here.)

An Incident Management Team from CAL FIRE, Team 6, will assume command of both the Blue Ridge and Silverado Fires Tuesday night.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department website has the latest information about evacuations.

The two fires had access to 14 helicopters and a variable number of fixed wing air tankers Tuesday.


Updated October 27, 2020   |   11:37 a.m. PDT

map Blue Ridge and Silverado Fires
Map showing heat detected by satellites on the Blue Ridge and Silverado Fires at 3:27 a.m. PDT Oct. 27, 2020.

Updated October 27, 2020   |   11:10 a.m. PDT

Blue Ridge Fire
Blue Ridge Fire, as seen from Sierra Peak at 10:48 a.m. Oct. 27, 2020. Looking northwest.

Monday at 9:57 a.m. Orange County fire authorities said the Blue Ridge Fire had burned 8,000 acres, and 10 homes had been damaged. Approximately 1,000 personnel are assigned to the fire.

At about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday firefighters requested on an immediate need basis three Very Large Air Tankers, four Large Air Tankers, and four S-2 Air tankers. An “immediate need” request is usually reserved for circumstances where there is an imminent threat to lives or property. Requesting eleven air tankers at one time, however, is not common.

At 10:20 a.m. Tuesday the SCE weather station in the Santa Ana River area recorded 20 mph winds out of the northeast gusting to 31, with 9 percent relative humidity. The forecast calls for the wind to begin decreasing at noon and by 2 p.m. would be down to 10 mph out of the northeast, with the direction becoming variable between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m., after which it will come from the east or northeast at about 6 mph.

There is a report that the BNSF railroad is sending one of their fire trains to the Blue Ridge Fire. The company has several variations of these firefighting machines that carry massive amounts of water which can be applied using master stream nozzles. We have written about them a number of times on Wildfire Today.


Updated October 27, 2020   |   5:50 a.m. PDT

map of the Blue Ridge Fire
The red and yellow dots on the map represent heat detected by a satellite over the Blue Ridge Fire at 2:28 a.m. PDT Oct. 27, 2020.

The Blue Ridge Fire was active throughout the night, but less so than during the day due to a decrease in winds. Those winds began to increase around 3 a.m. Tuesday morning as expected. Flare-ups occurred near Butterfield Ranch, south Chino Hills, Bane Canyon Road, Soquel Canyon Road, and Pipeline Avenue.

Monday at 9:26 p.m. Orange County fire authorities said the Blue Ridge Fire had burned 3,000 acres.

Blue Ridge Fire evacuation zones
at 5:30 a.m. PDT Oct. 27, 2020. These zones can change on a minute by minute basis. Visit Orange County’s website for current information.

Updated October 26, 2020    |   4:57 p.m. PDT

At 4:30 p.m. on Monday Orange County Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy said the fire had burned 1,000 acres, and 70,000 homes have been evacuated.

Continue reading “Blue Ridge Fire grows to 15,200 acres near Yorba Linda, California”