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Firefighters defend an area from the Airport Fire. | Photo courtesy of the Orange County Fire Authority/X
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Riverside County officials proclaimed a local emergency Wednesday in response to the more than 23,000-acre Airport Fire.
The Board of Supervisors was expected to vote on the proclamation Tuesday. If ratified, local emergency status could help make the county eligible for possible federal and state funding assistance for repairing damaged public spaces. The proclamation also allows the county to more quickly obtain items necessary for emergency response and making repairs.
Personnel throughout the region from fire departments, law enforcement agencies, emergency management departments, animal services agencies and others are currently responding to the Airport Fire.
As of Friday morning, the fire had caused 12 injuries to civilians and firefighters, destroyed two buildings and damaged seven, according to Cal Fire.
The Orange County Board of Supervisors declared an emergency in response to the fire Tuesday.
Gov. Gavin Newsom secured assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for all the fires in California, including the Airport Fire, the Line Fire in San Bernardino County and the Bridge Fire that is scorching Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties and is the state’s largest active wildfire.
Newsom traveled Wednesday to Highland and proclaimed a state of emergency for the four counties in response to the wildfires.
The Airport Fire began about 1 p.m. Monday, Sept. 9 near Trabuco Canyon Road in the area of the remote-controlled airplane airport, Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Sean Doran said. By Tuesday morning, the fire had raced up the canyon and hillsides and crested into Riverside County, burning toward the El Cariso and Lake Elsinore areas, where evacuation warnings and orders were in place.
OCFA Deputy Chief TJ McGovern told reporters Monday night that county workers unintentionally started the fire. Orange County Public Works crews were using heavy equipment near Trabuco Creek Road to place boulders meant to replace barriers used to restrict access to the vegetation.
At a news conference Wednesday afternoon, OCFA Division Chief Kevin Fetterman said one civilian suffered a medical emergency and one had unspecified burns.
Earlier Wednesday he said most of the firefighter injuries were heat-related, one was stung by numerous bees, another firefighter sustained minor burns and another two more suffered injuries related to the firefight.
“All were released from the hospital and are doing well,” Fetterman said.
The end of the region’s prolonged heat wave started to aid in the firefighting effort Tuesday night, Concialdi said. Burn scars from the 2018 Holy Fire and also in 2022 provided breaks in fuel for the aggressive blaze.
“We can confirm that there were some homes damaged and destroyed in the communities around Ortega Highway,” but details were still being collected, Concialdi said.
Evacuation warnings were issued for several Riverside County areas near the fire zone, generally east of the Orange County line, north of the San Diego County line, south of Bedford Motor Way and west of Interstate 15.
On Tuesday afternoon, some of the warnings became evacuation orders, affecting an area generally north of the San Diego County line, east of the Orange County line, south of Lake Elsinore near the base of Ortega Highway and west of South Main Divide Road/Grand Avenue.
On Thursday afternoon, with conditions easing, mandatory evacuations were reduced to evacuation warnings in some neighborhoods.
On Friday, containment reached 8%, according to Cal Fire.
As of Wednesday, the Orange County Fair and Event Center had taken in 93 horses that were evacuated because of the fire, which has also prompted warnings about air quality.
“Residents, especially those with chronic health conditions, need to be aware of the risks of breathing unhealthy air and take steps to keep safe,” Riverside County Public Health Officer Dr. Geoffrey Leung said in a statement.
People in areas affected by smoke and ash should avoid strenuous activity, stay in air-conditioned rooms with windows and doors closed, Leung said, adding that indoor air can be kept fresh with a clean filtering system that prevents smoke from getting inside a building.
Riverside County public information on the fire is at rivcoready.org/active-events. For Orange County, visit ocsheriff.gov/AirportFire or call 714-628-7085.
Updated Sept. 13, 2024, 11:11 a.m.
