The Associated Press
ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. — Fire erupted in the hills of Orange County on Friday and spread over 40 to 50 acres of thick vegetation, authorities said.
Firefighters attacked the flames on the ground while air tankers made retardant-dropping runs, said Battalion Chief Ed Fleming of the county Fire Authority.
Winds initially fanned the flames, but calmed down near sunset.
No injuries were reported and no structures were immediately threatened, but firefighters were concerned about a communication tower and a water treatment plant, Fleming said.
The cause remained under investigation. The blaze suddenly roared to life in the late afternoon, sending up a towering column of smoke near the 261 toll road that runs among the cities of Orange, Tustin and Irvine and into wilderness lands.
Meanwhile, in the state’s Central Coast region, officials reopened more than 800 square miles of forest land and several campgrounds after virtually penning a huge, monthlong wildfire in a small pocket of wilderness.
The 31,000-acre blaze in Los Padres National Forest in northern Santa Barbara County was 80 percent contained. It was expected to be fully surrounded on Aug. 3.
About 153 square miles of land remained off-limits to visitors, most of it in the San Rafael Wilderness area. That was down from nearly 960 square miles at the fire’s peak.
Despite hot, dry weather, the fire had barely moved over the past several days. Except for occasional flare-ups elsewhere, the fire was contained to a bowl of rugged land on its southeastern flank, said Joe Pasinato of the U.S. Forest Service.
Fifteen helicopters, an air tanker and more than 500 firefighters were attacking the blaze.
The fire, which began on July 4 outside the forest, made an extensive run earlier in the month but “it’s looking much better than it was a week ago,” Pasinato said.
No buildings were immediately threatened.
It has cost an estimated $35.4 million to fight the fire, which was caused by sparks from grinding equipment used to repair a water pipe.