News: Fire burns in Orange hills - 261 fire knocked down - 77 acres

CA-ORC-261 Incident Wildlandfire.com
Sizeup: Building fire....Hwy 261 near Santiago in Orange County. IC says becoming major fire...requesting 4 Type 3 STEN, 2 Dozer Strike Teams, CALFIRE Aircraft, several HandCrews, and 2 Type 1 STEN structure protection.

News: Fire burns in Orange hill - OCRegister.com:
261 fire knocked down
Firefighters beat back the flames. Sections of the 261 and 241 toll roads closed until midnight.

261 fire knocked down

Firefighters beat back the flames. Sections of the 261 and 241 toll roads closed until midnight.

By KIMBERLY EDDS, ERIC CARPENTER, ERIK ORTIZ and SERENA MARIE DANIELS

The Orange County Register

Mellow winds gave dozens of firefighters the break they needed to quickly squash a brush fire that broke out in blistering summer heat this afternoon, forcing the closure of two major commuter roads during the height of rush hour traffic in an unincorporated area near Irvine and Orange.

The quick-moving brush fire chewed through 77 acres of dry brush and forced the closure of two major commuter roads in an unincorporated area near Irvine and Orange.

Flames ripped through brush where the northbound Eastern Transportation (261) and (241) toll roads come together after a fire broke out there about 5 p.m. The 261 has been closed between Portola Parkway and Santiago Canyon, California Highway Patrol officials said. Jamboree Road in Tustin has been shut down between Pioneer and Canyonview. Those closures were expected to be in place until at least midnight.

Thick plumes of smoke poured into the sky as dozens of firefighters, along with bulldozers beat back the flames, which briefly threatened the county's Emergency Operations Center, manned by the Orange County Sheriff's Department, fire officials said.

Three county strike teams were stationed outside of the dispatch center. Thick smoke covered the road leading up to dispatch center, marooning about 50 Sheriff's Department personnel inside who are responsible for dispatching 911 calls made to the Sheriff's Department. Vehicles were moved away from the building to prevent flames from causing them to explode and throwing debris into the building, Sheriff's Lt. Larry Abbott said from inside the dispatch center.

By 7 p.m., the fire started to calm down as firefighters knocked down the blaze and smoke started to dissipate, said Orange County Battalion Chief Ed Fleming said. No homes were evacuated. A fire captain was taken to a local hospital with heat exhaustion.

Early air support from three helicopters and two air tankers and tame winds helped firefighters knock down the blaze before it marched down the hill to homes in Tustin and Orange.

A total of 28 fire engines, two bulldozers and two fire trucks along with medics rushed to snuff out the blaze as temperatures soared into the 90s. Hand crews marched through the tinder-box dry terrain, carving out gashes in the earth to stop the fire's progress.

"It's very dry, and it's very hot," said Chief Ed Fleming of Orange County Fire Authority.

Winds between 5 and 10 mph are pushing the blaze through the dry brush. A Sheriff's Department helicopter and several OCFA helicopters doused the blaze from above.