latimes--2020-10-27--Fires sweep through Orange County, driving tens of thousands from their homes

A pair of wind-driven wildfires raced toward neighborhoods in Orange County Monday , critically injuring two firefighters , forcing tens of thousands of residents to evacuate and smothering much of the region with smoke .
The larger of the blazes , the Silverado fire , broke out shortly after 6:45 a.m. in the brush country around Santiago Canyon and Silverado Canyon roads , burning more than 7,200 acres as Santa Ana winds pushed it west to the suburban edge of Irvine and Lake Forest .
By Monday evening , more than 70,000 people were under evacuation orders in the foothills @ @ @ @ @ @ @ severely burned as they battled the flames , according to Orange County Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy .
The firefighters , ages 26 and 31 , were both intubated after suffering second- and third-degree burns over half their bodies , Fennessy said .
“ This is tough for me , tough for all my firefighters and certainly for the families of my two injured firefighters , ” Fennessy said during a news conference outside the Orange County Global Medical Center , where the firefighters were being treated .
“ They ’ re gravely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We ’ re doing all we can for them.
” Details on how the firefighters had been overrun by flames were not available .
Later in the day , the smaller Blue Ridge fire erupted in Santa Ana Canyon — a notorious wind tunnel said to have given the blustery Santa Anas their very name .
The flames spread quickly as the fire pushed west toward Yorba Linda , threatening the town ’ s Hidden Hills community and forcing the evacuation of some 20,000 residents , officials said .
By late Monday night @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and one home was damaged .
The combination of winds and low humidity levels were expected to create “ the most dangerous fire weather conditions we have seen since October 2019 , ” the National Weather Service said .
“ We have very strong winds and very low humidities , and that ’ s causing ideal conditions for a very strong Santa Ana event with high fire danger , ” said David Sweet , a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard .
“ This is very typical for this time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ very strong.
” Wind gusts of up to 80 mph led the weather service to upgrade the San Gabriel and San Fernando valleys to high wind warning conditions , noting that a “ wave ” of winds could crash down into the foothills along the 210 Freeway corridor Monday .
The winds were even stronger in higher elevation areas , with the weather service reporting a gust of 96 mph in the San Gabriel Mountains just south of Santa Clarita about 6 a.m. Monday .
The winds were lifting ash and soot left @ @ @ @ @ @ @ back into the skies , further choking out Southern California with bad air .
The conditions forced Southern California Edison to warn customers in all of Los Angeles and Ventura counties except for the Antelope Valley that power could be shut off to lower chances of fires being sparked by downed power lines .
As of Monday afternoon , about 21,860 customers were without power , mostly in San Bernardino County .
An additional 105,000 remained under consideration for a preemptive shutoff , according to Edison ’ s website .
The strong winds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had to be pulled off the Silverado blaze around 10:30 a.m. and crews weren ’ t sure when they ’ d be able to get back in the air , said Capt .
Ben Gonzales of the Orange County Fire Authority .
The aircraft remained grounded through the afternoon .
In all , 500 fire personnel were battling the Silverado fire and 200 were on scene at the Blue Ridge fire , officials said .
In Irvine , many parks were closed because of the fires and high winds .
UC Irvine said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ day because smoke and ash were making the air hazardous .
Trash cans and palm fronds were swept along empty streets in evacuated neighborhoods .
Lana Salameh , 45 , had just dropped off her two youngest children at school and returned home in Irvine ’ s Eastwood community when she realized the sky was a dull orange .
Trees were falling from heavy winds and smoke was seeping into the house , but she had not been informed that school was canceled .
She hustled back to Eastwood Elementary School to grab @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whose tears were soaking her pink mask .
She then picked up her 11-year-old son , Omar .
“ They were scared .
It wasn ’ t easy , ” Salameh said .
“ My kids were crying , but we had to leave.
” They grabbed their passports and some bananas before arriving at an evacuation center set up at Quail Hill Community Center , which was reaching capacity .
Inside , about 30 people sat at socially distanced desks while small dogs were tied to table legs .
Many were searching @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Salameh ’ s children got to work on school assignments .
Esther Lee , 55 , and dozens of others waited in the parking lot for spots to open inside .
Hours before , Lee had been packing at her home in Lake Forest when she received a mandatory evacuation notice at 9:30 a.m .
Looking outside , she saw palm trees bending hard in the wind and smoke pouring down from the hill .
She knew what she had to do .
Lee rushed to put important documents in her car @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coordinate with other family members .
“ We didn ’ t have much time , and I didn ’ t want to stay too long , ” Lee said .
“ We ’ re just staying put for now because the winds can be so unpredictable.
” Pat McGrath , 78 , was making breakfast when a stranger pounded on her front door to inform her of the evacuation orders .
The Irvine woman has no family on the West Coast .
“ I just panicked .
I started crying , ” McGrath @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , I ’ m hungry , I ’ m stressed and I don ’ t know what to do.
” Her voice was faint as she reclined into her seat at the Quail Hill Community Center with a beige cardigan draped over her .
“ I was hoping there would be food or water , but I only got a bottle of water from a woman here earlier , ” she said .
“ There ’ s a fountain down the hall , but I forgot my cane and my legs don ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ your body doesn ’ t work as well when you ’ re stressed.
” Times reporters Faith E. Pinho , Andrew Campa , Hayley Smith and Joe Mozingo contributed to this report .

Ruben Vives, Stephanie Lai, Alex Wigglesworth, Alejandra Reyes-Velarde

A wind-driven blaze, dubbed the Silverado fire, sparked around 6:45 a.m. Monday morning and is spreading at a “moderate” speed in the area of Santiago Canyon and Silverado Canyon roads in Orange County. (KTLA)
A deer navigates through the smoke of the Silverado fire that broke out in Orange County on Monday morning. (OnScene.TV)
Orange County Fire Authority firefighters monitor the Silverado fire, which is threatening communities in Irvine. (OnScene.TV)
The Silverado fire broke out in Orange County on Monday morning, threatening communities and forcing residents from their homes. (OnScene.TV)
Orange County Fire Authority firefighters do structure protection for homes in the Orchard Hills neighborhood of Irvine as the Silverado fire continues to burn. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Orange County Fire Authority firefighters have to look away because of the gusty, hot wind, debris and approaching flames while defending homes from the Silverado fire in the Orchard Hills neighborhood of Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
A firefighter sustained second- and third-degree burns near Santiago Canyon Road and Limestone Spur fighting the Silverado fire and was transported to a nearby trauma center. (OnScene.TV)
Orange County Fire Authority firefighters defend homes as the Silverado fire approaches the Orchard Hills neighborhood of Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
An Orange County Fire Authority firefighter stands ready to defend a home as the Silverado fire approaches the Orchard Hills neighborhood of Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
A water truck operator is overcome after running through thick smoke from the advancing Silverado fire in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Firetrucks convoy through thick smoke on the 241 Freeway to battle the advancing Silverado fire. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Firetrucks convoy through thick smoke on Portola Parkway to battle the advancing Silverado fire. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
A water truck operator runs through the thick smoke of the advancing Silverado fire at the 241 Freeway and Portola Parkway in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
A hot spot flares in the Silverado fire at the 241 Freeway and Portola Parkway in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
An air tanker drops fire retardant on a ridge near the Green River Golf Club in Corona. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
A firefighter hoses down a home in Yorba Linda that was ablaze due to the Blue Ridge fire Monday. (OnScene.TV)
A bicyclist takes a look at fire activity on Via Lomas de Yorba amid the Blue Ridge fire in Yorba Linda. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Firefighter Raymond Vasquez fights the Silverado fire, fueled by Santa Ana winds, at the 241 Freeway and Portola Parkway in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Yorba Linda residents gather around an Orange County Fire Authority vehicle at the intersection of Fairmont Boulevard and San Antonio Road, inquiring about the Blue Ridge fire that was burning close to their homes. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
A flare-up fills the sky with smoke from the Silverado fire burning in Irvine on Tuesday. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
A firefighting helicopter makes a drop on the Silverado fire, which has been fanned by gusty Santa Ana winds for a second day in the Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park in Lake Forest. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
The sun shines through smoke in the air Tuesday in Chino Hills. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Firefighters make their way up a hill through smoke Tuesday in Chino Hills. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Ash swirled, and the stench of smoke hung in the air Tuesday as a light haze settled over southern Orange County. Cars lined Glenn Ranch Road as motorists paused to watch smoke billowing from a cluster of hills in the direction of Silverado Canyon Road.
At least two firefighting planes circled the area. A firetruck blared its siren down the hill.
It had been barely 24 hours since a pair of wind-driven wildfires ignited and encroaching flames forced 100,000 residents to flee their homes.
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The first, the Silverado fire, broke out shortly after 6:45 a.m. Monday in the brush country around Santiago Canyon and Silverado Canyon roads. By 8 p.m. Tuesday, firefighters had achieved 5% containment on the blaze, which had burned through more than 13,000 acres — sparing structures but injuring five firefighters, including two who were critically burned.
The firefighters, ages 26 and 31, were placed on ventilators after suffering second- and third-degree burns over half their bodies. They “remain in critical condition, fighting for their lives, with their families by their sides,” Orange County Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy said Tuesday.
Fennessy said the firefighters’ families had received an outpouring of support, including notes, emails and texts from all over the country, but it was “tough for any firefighter — certainly any fire chief — to feel this helpless.”
Hours after the Silverado fire ignited, the Blue Ridge fire erupted in Santa Ana Canyon — a notorious wind tunnel said to have given the blustery Santa Anas their name.
The flames spread quickly as the fire pushed west toward Yorba Linda, threatening the town’s Hidden Hills community. By Tuesday evening, the blaze had surpassed its predecessor, engulfing more than 15,000 acres and damaging at least 10 homes. Firefighters had not been able to achieve any containment on the growing blaze.
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The two fires spurred multiple evacuation orders and warnings, but the city of Irvine on Tuesday afternoon was beginning to allow some evacuees to return home, as dangerous winds began to subside. Residents can refer to the O.C. emergency public information map to check the status of their neighborhoods.
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday said California had received a fire management assistance grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency that will allow the state to receive 75% reimbursements for firefighting efforts related to the Silverado and Blue Ridge fires. The grant is provided through the president’s Disaster Relief Fund on a cost-share basis.
“I want to thank FEMA and our partners at the federal level for their support,” Newsom said.
He said 42 fires had ignited across the state in the previous 24 hours, many fueled by fierce winds. He thanked the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, along with local firefighting agencies, for their quick work in suppressing most of the blazes.
“We talk in historic terms,” he said, “and I remind you that six of the top 20 wildfires in our state’s history have occurred in 2020.”
More than 4 million acres have burned this year, and wildfires across the state have resulted in at least 30 fatalities, he said.
“This is absolutely a large mutual-aid fire, a lot of resources from all over the state,” Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Jason Fairchild said Tuesday, noting that more than 1,700 firefighters are battling the two blazes. “And we have additional resources coming in from farther away.”
Facing flames that could threaten multiple homes at once amid the county’s suburban sprawl, firefighters have been relying on their engines’ 500-gallon water tanks instead of connecting to hydrants so the crews aren’t “anchored down,” Fairchild said.
If the water supply were to become an issue, many of the engines are outfitted with pumps that would allow them to pull water from homeowners’ pools, he said.
The strong winds fueling the blazes were expected to dissipate Tuesday afternoon, although a red flag warning remains in effect in Orange County until 6 p.m., said Casey Oswant, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Diego.
Despite slowing gusts, she said, people should not “completely relax,” as dryness is still a concern across the region.
“Definitely avoid burning if necessary, and if you see a fire, call the authorities,” Oswant said. “The threat is definitely still there, even though the winds are coming down.”
Firefighter Vince Valdivia is surrounded by heavy smoke as he battles the advancing Silverado fire at Highway 241 and Portola Parkway in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Monday’s combination of intense winds and low humidity were considered some of the most dangerous fire weather conditions of the year. The weather service reported gusts of 96 mph in the San Gabriel Mountains just south of Santa Clarita.
The winds also carried ash and soot left from the Bobcat fire earlier this month back into the skies, further choking Southern California with bad air.
By Tuesday morning, the government’s air quality monitoring agency had reported that Southern California had the worst air quality in the nation, with parts of Los Angeles and Orange counties and the city of Corona all hovering in the “unhealthy” range.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District issued a smoke advisory for Orange County through Tuesday. It also issued a windblown dust and ash advisory in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties, warning that hazardous particulate matter from wildfire areas may be spread through the air.
The windy conditions spurred Southern California Edison to warn customers in all of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, except for the Antelope Valley, that power could be shut off to lower the chances of fires being sparked by downed power lines.
As of Tuesday evening, about 5,500 customers remained without power, mostly in San Bernardino County.
A bicyclist takes a look at the activity on Via Lomas de Yorba during the Blue Ridge fire in Yorba Linda. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
The strong winds hindered firefighting efforts on Monday; water-dropping aircraft had to be pulled off the Silverado blaze around 10:30 a.m. The aircraft remained grounded through the afternoon.
In Irvine, many parks remained closed. UC Irvine said Monday it was suspending campus operations through Tuesday.
For Orange County residents in the paths of the fires, Monday and Tuesday were spent fleeing the fires or preparing to do so.
Marc Church, 63, joined a row of passersby who were snapping photos of the burning canyon Tuesday. The smoke had lessened from the previous day, he said, motioning to the hills, where patches of charred black peeked through the brown haze.
Church lives in Mission Viejo, where he moved a year and a half ago from Irvine because his wife wanted to be closer to the hills. Now, they fear the wind could carry burning embers and ignite their backyard.
“It’s a risk whenever you move near these hills,” he said.
The family had packed a few boxes of important documents — car titles, birth certificates, bank information — and spent the morning gathering other necessities, including clothes, computers and chargers. They took shifts sleeping and keeping watch overnight, he said, and awoke to voluntary evacuations and the sound of helicopters circling overhead.
“We didn’t get a lot of sleep,” Church said, adding that if the evacuation orders became mandatory, they would load up the car. “If we have to go, we’ll have to go.”
A similarly frightening scene had unfolded Monday, when trash cans and palm fronds were swept along empty streets in evacuated neighborhoods.
Lana Salameh, 45, had just dropped off her two youngest children at school and returned home in Irvine’s Eastwood community when she realized the sky was a dull orange. Trees were falling from heavy winds, and smoke was seeping into the house, but she had not been informed that school was canceled.
She hustled back to Eastwood Elementary School to grab her 9-year-old daughter, Farah Abdelbari, whose tears were soaking her pink mask. She then picked up her 11-year-old son, Omar.
“They were scared. It wasn’t easy,” Salameh said. “My kids were crying, but we had to leave.”
They grabbed their passports and some bananas before arriving at an evacuation center set up at Quail Hill Community Center, which was reaching capacity.
A fire spotter plane, left, peels off after marking the drop location for an air tanker while fighting the Blue Ridge fire in Yorba Linda. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Inside, about 30 people sat at socially distanced desks; small dogs were tied to table legs. Many people were searching laptops for news reports of the fires. Salameh’s children got to work on school assignments.
Esther Lee, 55, and dozens of others waited in the parking lot for spots to open inside.
Hours before, Lee had been packing at her home in Lake Forest around 9:30 a.m. when she received a mandatory evacuation notice. Looking outside, she saw palm trees bending hard in the wind and smoke pouring down from the hill. She knew what she had to do.
Lee rushed to put important documents in her car and drove to a nearby park to coordinate with other family members.
“We didn’t have much time, and I didn’t want to stay too long,” Lee said. “We’re just staying put for now because the winds can be so unpredictable.”
Pat McGrath, 78, was making breakfast when a stranger pounded on her front door to inform her of the evacuation orders. The Irvine woman has no family on the West Coast.
“I just panicked. I started crying,” McGrath said. “I’m cold, I’m hungry, I’m stressed, and I don’t know what to do.”
Her voice was faint as she reclined into her seat at the Quail Hill Community Center with a beige cardigan draped over her.
“I was hoping there would be food or water, but I only got a bottle of water from a woman here earlier,” she said. “There’s a fountain down the hall, but I forgot my cane, and my legs don’t work too well. I think your body doesn’t work as well when you’re stressed.”
Lorraine Elewaut’s firefighter brother called from Washington on Monday, when the Silverado fire burst into Irvine near the Elewauts’ Skyridge home.
“You need to have your emergency kit ready,” he admonished her.
His call, and the howling winds, kept the 67-year-old up all night while her husband, Bob, 75, slept soundly. In the morning, a call from the Orange County Fire Authority about voluntary evacuations prompted Elewaut to fly into action. She packed birth certificates, lease agreements and “of course, the photos.”
“It made me realize how little prepared I was,” she said.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the Elewauts have kept a robust store of supplies, but Lorraine said she found necessities scattered around the house.
Her brother called again Tuesday morning with another cautioning message, and a laugh: “Don’t forget to pack the alcohol.”
John Lologo, 49, fiddled in his garage in the Yorba Linda neighborhood of Country Hills, which was under voluntary evacuation orders Tuesday afternoon.
Blackened palm fronds had blown in and lined his driveway, and clumps of ash floated to the ground. In the distance, three separate smoke plumes billowed from the hills where the Blue Ridge fire was burning.
Lologo said he took a drive through Riverside on Tuesday morning and saw flames leaping over the Chino hills. Soon after he returned home, local authorities knocked on his door to announce voluntary evacuations.
Lologo had planned a trip to Utah to coach a softball game Friday, so his bags were already packed. But he doesn’t expect to leave before then.
“I’m not going to leave until it’s mandatory, and even then, I’ll probably stay,” he said. “I’m far enough away from everything that even if it burns down to the end of the block, I don’t perceive too much happening this side of the street.”
Adriana Cruz and her daughter Roxana, 11, had to evacuate their Yorba Linda home and stayed in a hotel Monday night. With the two of them and their lumbering dog, Jacqs, penned up in a crate, the room was crowded.
The Cruz family brought Jacqs to the OC Animal Care shelter in Tustin, which was welcoming evacuees’ small animals. Jacqs would stay Tuesday night while Cruz and her daughter waited to learn more about their neighborhood.
The whole process was “confusing,” Cruz said while wiping out the dog’s crate with a towel.
As for when the family could return home, Cruz shook her head.
“We don’t know.”
Times staff writers Joseph Serna, Alex Wigglesworth, Alejandra Reyes-Velarde and Joe Mozingo contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-10-27--Photos: Orange County under siege by wildfires

Orange County Monday was under siege from two wind-driven brush fires that forced 90,000 people from their homes , critically @ @ @ @ @ many others on edge .

The Silverado and Blue Ridge fires have consumed more than 27,000 acres, but destruction to property has been relatively light. Officials said 10 homes were damaged in the Yorba Linda area. And by Tuesday afternoon, some of the massive evacuations in Irvine had been lifted.
An air tanker fighting the Blue Ridge fire makes a fire retardant drop Tuesday behind homes in Chino Hills. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)
Brandon Baker watches the Blue Ridge fire burn Tuesday in a canyon along Casino Ridge Road in Yorba Linda. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)
Herman Termeer watches the Blue Ridge fire burn in Chino Hills State Park on Tuesday from the roof of his home. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
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Firefighters working on the Blue Ridge fire conduct a backfire operation Tuesday at Chino Hills State Park in Chino Hills. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
People watch the Blue Ridge fire burn on Foxtail Drive in Yorba Linda. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
A homeowner watches flames burn a hillside near Foxtail Drive and Lotus Avenue in Yorba Linda. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
The hillside burns near Foxtail Drive and Lotus Avenue in Yorba Linda. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
A firefighter hoses down a home fire in Yorba Linda that was sparked Monday by the Blue Ridge fire. (OnScene.TV)
A water truck operator runs through the thick smoke of the advancing Silverado fire at the 241 Freeway and Portola Parkway in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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A firefighter sustained second- and third-degree burns near Santiago Canyon Road and Limestone Spur fighting the Silverado fire. (OnScene.TV)
A bicyclist takes a look at the activity on Via Lomas de Yorba during the Blue Ridge fire in Yorba Linda. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Firetrucks convoy through thick smoke on the 241 Freeway to battle the Silverado fire, fueled by Santa Ana winds, in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
An air tanker drops fire retardant on a ridge near the Green River Golf Club in Corona. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Firefighter Raymond Vasquez fights the Silverado fire fueled by Santa Ana winds at the 241 Freeway and Portola Parkway in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
Firefighters stand ready to protect structures in Irvine’s Orchard Hills neighborhood from the Silverado fire on Monday.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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A water truck operator is overcome after running through thick smoke from the advancing Silverado fire in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Firefighter Raymond Vasquez braves tall flames as he fights the advancing Silverado fire at the 241 Freeway and Portola Parkway in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
The Silverado fire burns close to a home Monday in Irvine’s Orchard Hills neighborhood.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
As the Silverado fire approaches the Orchard Hills neighborhood of Irvine on Monday, firefighters with the Orange County Fire Authority stand ready to defend homes.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Firefighter Vince Valdivia is surrounded by heavy smoke as he battles the advancing Silverado fire in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
A wind gust drives smoke and debris toward firefighters protecting Irvine’s Orchard Hills neighborhood from the Silverado fire on Monday.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)


latimes--2020-10-26--Protester charged with assaulting LAPD officer moments before he was wounded by projectile

A protester who is suing the city of Los Angeles and several LAPD officers after being shot and badly wounded by a police projectile during a major protest in the city this summer has been charged with assault in the same incident .
Bradley Steyn , 49 , was charged with assaulting an officer and resisting or obstructing an officer in a misdemeanor complaint filed in California Superior Court by City Atty .
Mike Feuer ’ s office Monday , court records show .
The complaint alleges Steyn “ willfully and unlawfully [ used ] force and violence ” against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Officer K. Clark — during a protest in the Fairfax district on May 30 .
The underlying encounter is one that has garnered attention for months , first after Steyn began sharing his experience of being shot and rushed into emergency surgery for a ruptured testicle , and later as the LAPD released body camera video showing him lunging forward in an apparent attempt to kick an officer on the skirmish line in the moments before he was shot .
Police and their supporters pointed to the incident as an example of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and have suggested that Steyn ’ s allegedly kicking the officer gave the second officer cause to see him as a threat and to shoot him .
Steyn and his supporters , meanwhile , have said the decision by police to shoot him at close range with a projectile represented excessive force .
Steyn , a famed anti-apartheid activist and former spy for Nelson Mandela ’ s party in South Africa who now lives outside L.A. , said he also was struck across the chest with a baton .
Jerod Gunsberg , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the new criminal case — filed by the city after Steyn sued the city — “ certainly looks like retaliation.
” He also criticized the way in which the LAPD has been selectively releasing evidence in the case , including body camera video .
“ The only evidence we have seen so far is a 17-minute-long and heavily edited video of the incident which the LAPD inexplicably uploaded to YouTube .
They did this long before charges were filed , ” Gunsberg said .
“ We know there is plenty of evidence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ true story of what happened that day .
We look forward to the city disclosing this evidence and we look forward to fighting this case.
” Lisa Bloom , Steyn ’ s attorney in his civil case against the city , also alleged retaliation .
“ The city attorney ’ s office obviously has a conflict , and these charges were clearly filed in retaliation for the filing of our civil case and because Bradley has been outspoken about the police brutality he witnessed at the Black Lives Matter protest , ” she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said the charges against Steyn were “ completely unrelated ” to his lawsuit , but otherwise declined to comment on the case beyond its filing .
The LAPD has previously said that its investigators reviewed the incident , believed that Steyn had assaulted an officer , and referred the matter to Dist .
Atty .
Jackie Lacey ’ s office — who forwarded it on to Feuer ’ s office .
A department spokesman said Monday that he could not immediately comment on the new charges .
Steyn , a South African-born mass-shooting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his days spying for the African National Congress , referred questions Monday to Gunsberg .
However , in a previous interview , he told The Times that he could see the eyes of the unidentified officer who shot him , and believed the officer “ was not aiming for my center body mass or my belt buckle ” but “ trying to put the hurt on.
” LAPD policy requires officers fire the sort of projectile that struck Steyn only at targeted individuals ’ belt lines , and only when they represent a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crowd .
In the body camera video , which was released in August , Steyn is seen standing near the front of a crowd of protesters , directly opposite a skirmish line of officers , as officers scream for the protesters to leave the area .
“ Shut the f— up , ” Steyn responded , before accusing officers at the scene of using excessive force .
After another man passing along the skirmish line gets shoved by an officer with a baton , Steyn and others in the crowd get visibly upset @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his foot in the air .
In his interview with The Times , Steyn said he was trying to defend the man who had been shoved .
Video from the camera of the officer who shot Steyn shows that officer then acknowledge the kick and his shooting Steyn .
“ Fired another round .
Male , white , kicked Officer Rivera , ” the officer says .
A separate internal LAPD review to determine whether the officer who shot Steyn was justified in doing so remains open .
Bloom said in an interview @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the video that Steyn was defending the other man .
“ It ’ s obvious even from the edited video that the police officer struck a peaceful unarmed Black man walking by , simply talking on the phone , just before this incident , ” Bloom said in August .
“ Many protesters , in addition to Mr. Steyn , reacted to that act of police brutality.
” In his lawsuit , Steyn claims he lost a lot of blood and fell unconscious after he was shot .
He later made it to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ surgery .
In his interview with The Times , Steyn said he had moved toward the skirmish line after seeing young people fleeing from officers firing tactical rounds .
He said the scene had reminded him of the Strijdom Square massacre — a mass killing by a racist white gunman that Steyn witnessed in Pretoria , South Africa , as a 17-year-old boy — and triggered post-traumatic stress in him .

Bradley Steyn is suing Los Angeles and several police officers after being shot in the testicles by a LAPD tactical projectile this summer.
A protester who is suing the city of Los Angeles and several LAPD officers after being shot and badly wounded by a police projectile during a major protest in the city this summer has been charged with assault in the same incident.
Bradley Steyn, 49, was charged with assaulting an officer and resisting or obstructing an officer in a misdemeanor complaint filed in California Superior Court by City Atty. Mike Feuer’s office Monday, court records show. The complaint alleges Steyn “willfully and unlawfully [used] force and violence” against an LAPD officer — identified only as Officer K. Clark — during a protest in the Fairfax district on May 30.
The underlying encounter is one that has garnered attention for months, first after Steyn began sharing his experience of being shot and rushed into emergency surgery for a ruptured testicle, and later as the LAPD released body camera video showing him lunging forward in an apparent attempt to kick an officer on the skirmish line in the moments before he was shot.
Police and their supporters pointed to the incident as an example of the violence that police face during such events, and have suggested that Steyn’s allegedly kicking the officer gave the second officer cause to see him as a threat and to shoot him.
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Steyn and his supporters, meanwhile, have said the decision by police to shoot him at close range with a projectile represented excessive force. Steyn, a famed anti-apartheid activist and former spy for Nelson Mandela’s party in South Africa who now lives outside L.A., said he also was struck across the chest with a baton.
Jerod Gunsberg, Steyn’s attorney, said Monday that the new criminal case — filed by the city after Steyn sued the city — “certainly looks like retaliation.”
He also criticized the way in which the LAPD has been selectively releasing evidence in the case, including body camera video.
“The only evidence we have seen so far is a 17-minute-long and heavily edited video of the incident which the LAPD inexplicably uploaded to YouTube. They did this long before charges were filed,” Gunsberg said. “We know there is plenty of evidence out there that tells the full and true story of what happened that day. We look forward to the city disclosing this evidence and we look forward to fighting this case.”
Lisa Bloom, Steyn’s attorney in his civil case against the city, also alleged retaliation.
“The city attorney’s office obviously has a conflict, and these charges were clearly filed in retaliation for the filing of our civil case and because Bradley has been outspoken about the police brutality he witnessed at the Black Lives Matter protest,” she said Monday.
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Feuer’s office said the charges against Steyn were “completely unrelated” to his lawsuit, but otherwise declined to comment on the case beyond its filing.
The LAPD has previously said that its investigators reviewed the incident, believed that Steyn had assaulted an officer, and referred the matter to Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey’s office — who forwarded it on to Feuer’s office. A department spokesman said Monday that he could not immediately comment on the new charges.
Steyn, a South African-born mass-shooting survivor and coauthor of a book about his days spying for the African National Congress, referred questions Monday to Gunsberg. However, in a previous interview, he told The Times that he could see the eyes of the unidentified officer who shot him, and believed the officer “was not aiming for my center body mass or my belt buckle” but “trying to put the hurt on.”
LAPD policy requires officers fire the sort of projectile that struck Steyn only at targeted individuals’ belt lines, and only when they represent a threat to officers or others in the crowd.
In the body camera video, which was released in August, Steyn is seen standing near the front of a crowd of protesters, directly opposite a skirmish line of officers, as officers scream for the protesters to leave the area.
“Shut the f— up,” Steyn responded, before accusing officers at the scene of using excessive force.
After another man passing along the skirmish line gets shoved by an officer with a baton, Steyn and others in the crowd get visibly upset, and Steyn then lunges forward with his foot in the air. In his interview with The Times, Steyn said he was trying to defend the man who had been shoved.
Video from the camera of the officer who shot Steyn shows that officer then acknowledge the kick and his shooting Steyn.
“Fired another round. Male, white, kicked Officer Rivera,” the officer says.
A separate internal LAPD review to determine whether the officer who shot Steyn was justified in doing so remains open.
Bloom said in an interview this summer that it was clear from the video that Steyn was defending the other man.
“It’s obvious even from the edited video that the police officer struck a peaceful unarmed Black man walking by, simply talking on the phone, just before this incident,” Bloom said in August. “Many protesters, in addition to Mr. Steyn, reacted to that act of police brutality.”
In his lawsuit, Steyn claims he lost a lot of blood and fell unconscious after he was shot. He later made it to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he underwent surgery. In his interview with The Times, Steyn said he had moved toward the skirmish line after seeing young people fleeing from officers firing tactical rounds.
He said the scene had reminded him of the Strijdom Square massacre — a mass killing by a racist white gunman that Steyn witnessed in Pretoria, South Africa, as a 17-year-old boy — and triggered post-traumatic stress in him.


latimes--2020-10-26--Gov. Gavin Newsom alleges racial bias in opposing a death penalty case

Gov .
Gavin Newsom on Monday threw his support behind the appeal of a man on death row convicted of murder , arguing in an amicus brief that “ racial discrimination infects the administration of California ’ s death penalty.
” The decision to intervene in the death row case follows a promise by Newsom during his first term as governor that no prisoner in the state would be executed while he is in office , a pledge made when he imposed a moratorium on the death penalty .
“ Since its inception , the American death penalty has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Africans and African Americans , and , later to free Black people , ” Newsom said in a statement Monday .
“ With this filing , we make clear that all Californians deserve the same right to a jury trial that is fair , and that it is a matter of life and death.
” Newsom ’ s detailed objections to capital punishment were filed in an amicus brief to the California Supreme Court , which is hearing the appeal of Don ’ te LaMont McDaniel , who is Black .
McDaniel and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ killing of a rival gang member in Los Angeles and a woman who witnessed the attack .
Six current and former county district attorneys also filed a state Supreme Court brief in the case arguing that the death penalty was unfair and racially biased — a group including Dist .
Attys .
Chesa Boudin of San Francisco and Jeffrey Rosen of Santa Clara , along with former San Francisco Dist .
Atty .
George Gascón , who is challenging Los Angeles County Dist .
Atty .
Jackie Lacey in the November election .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ brief are members of the Prosecutors Alliance of California , a recently formed nonprofit committed to retooling California ’ s criminal justice system .
Executive Director Cristine Soto DeBerry said the briefs were filed after the state Supreme Court requested arguments regarding the constitutionality of California ’ s death penalty .
DeBerry believes this is the first time a sitting governor , as well as current prosecutors , have joined in an argument before the California Supreme Court to end the death penalty .
“ This is historic , ” DeBerry said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of us that have concerns about the death penalty to weigh in with them .
So it ’ s much broader than Mr. McDaniel ’ s case .
It ’ s about a broader concern with the death penalty.
” Newsom ’ s brief argues that the nation ’ s legacy of racial discrimination has led to significant disparities in capital punishment cases in California , swayed by the race of both the defendant and the victims .
The legal filing cites a 2005 Santa Clara University Law Review study that concluded those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were more likely to be sentenced to death than people convicted of killing Black and Latino people .
The brief also argues that people of color are improperly excluded from juries because they in many cases have different views and experiences with the court system and police when compared to jurors who are white , and are also less likely to support death sentences .
The governor ’ s brief to the state Supreme Court was filed by law professor Elisabeth Semel of the UC Berkeley School of Law Death Penalty Clinic and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ School of Law .
In response to a question posed by the state Supreme Court about jury deliberations in the McDaniel case , Newsom ’ s brief advocates for requiring death penalty verdicts to be unanimous , and calls for instructing jurors to apply a reasonable doubt standard in capital cases .
That same high standard for juror decisions also should apply to each individual aggravating circumstance presented by prosecutors seeking the death penalty , such as allegations of prior criminal acts , the brief said .
“ Race is such a pernicious @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is administered in California , ” Semel said Monday .
“ We need certain safeguards that we know help reduce the influence of racial discrimination and ... determining verdicts beyond a reasonable doubt and unanimously demonstrably reduce the influence of racial discrimination.
” Atty .
Gen. Xavier Becerra , in a filing with the court in August , urged the state Supreme Court to adhere to prior legal precedent in the McDaniel case .
“ The penalty-phase requirements that McDaniel favors could be feasible policy reforms for the voters to consider ; indeed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ requirements .
As this Court has repeatedly recognized , however , they are not required by state or federal law , ” the attorney general said in the court filing .
“ The Court should adhere to that legal position — on which the lower courts have relied for decades — and leave it to the electorate to amend the death penalty law if they see fit.
” McDaniel and his and his co-defendant , Kai Harris , were accused of entering an apartment in the Nickerson Gardens public housing project in April @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dispute .
They were both sentenced to death after being convicted in the shooting deaths of 33-year-old George Brooks and Brooks ’ 52-year-old cousin Annette Anderson .
Two other women in the apartment were also shot but survived .
One of them , Debra Johnson , later testified against the men .
Officials with the Los Angles County district attorney ’ s office were not available for comment .
Lacey remains supportive of the death penalty , though she often says her office only seeks capital punishment in the most extreme cases involving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
That stance has become an issue as she seeks a third term in office and tries to fend off a challenge from Gascón , who has positioned himself as a criminal justice reformer while casting Lacey as out of touch with modern approaches to prosecution .
If elected , Gascón has promised he will direct prosecutors to stop seeking the death penalty in California and will work to have defendants previously sent to death row from L.A. County be resentenced to life without parole .

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday threw his support behind the appeal of a man on death row convicted of murder, arguing in an amicus brief that “racial discrimination infects the administration of California’s death penalty.”
The decision to intervene in the death row case follows a promise by Newsom during his first term as governor that no prisoner in the state would be executed while he is in office, a pledge made when he imposed a moratorium on the death penalty.
“Since its inception, the American death penalty has been disproportionately applied, first, to enslaved Africans and African Americans, and, later to free Black people,” Newsom said in a statement Monday. “With this filing, we make clear that all Californians deserve the same right to a jury trial that is fair, and that it is a matter of life and death.”
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Newsom’s detailed objections to capital punishment were filed in an amicus brief to the California Supreme Court, which is hearing the appeal of Don’te LaMont McDaniel, who is Black. McDaniel and a co-defendant were convicted in the 2004 killing of a rival gang member in Los Angeles and a woman who witnessed the attack.
Six current and former county district attorneys also filed a state Supreme Court brief in the case arguing that the death penalty was unfair and racially biased — a group including Dist. Attys. Chesa Boudin of San Francisco and Jeffrey Rosen of Santa Clara, along with former San Francisco Dist. Atty. George Gascón, who is challenging Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey in the November election.
Four of the prosecutors who filed the brief are members of the Prosecutors Alliance of California, a recently formed nonprofit committed to retooling California’s criminal justice system.
Executive Director Cristine Soto DeBerry said the briefs were filed after the state Supreme Court requested arguments regarding the constitutionality of California’s death penalty. DeBerry believes this is the first time a sitting governor, as well as current prosecutors, have joined in an argument before the California Supreme Court to end the death penalty.
“This is historic,” DeBerry said. “It provided an opportunity for those of us that have concerns about the death penalty to weigh in with them. So it’s much broader than Mr. McDaniel’s case. It’s about a broader concern with the death penalty.”
Newsom’s brief argues that the nation’s legacy of racial discrimination has led to significant disparities in capital punishment cases in California, swayed by the race of both the defendant and the victims. The legal filing cites a 2005 Santa Clara University Law Review study that concluded those who are convicted of killing white people were more likely to be sentenced to death than people convicted of killing Black and Latino people.
The brief also argues that people of color are improperly excluded from juries because they in many cases have different views and experiences with the court system and police when compared to jurors who are white, and are also less likely to support death sentences.
The governor’s brief to the state Supreme Court was filed by law professor Elisabeth Semel of the UC Berkeley School of Law Death Penalty Clinic and Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of UC Berkeley School of Law.
In response to a question posed by the state Supreme Court about jury deliberations in the McDaniel case, Newsom’s brief advocates for requiring death penalty verdicts to be unanimous, and calls for instructing jurors to apply a reasonable doubt standard in capital cases. That same high standard for juror decisions also should apply to each individual aggravating circumstance presented by prosecutors seeking the death penalty, such as allegations of prior criminal acts, the brief said.
“Race is such a pernicious influence in the way the death penalty is administered in California,” Semel said Monday. “We need certain safeguards that we know help reduce the influence of racial discrimination and ... determining verdicts beyond a reasonable doubt and unanimously demonstrably reduce the influence of racial discrimination.”
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Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra, in a filing with the court in August, urged the state Supreme Court to adhere to prior legal precedent in the McDaniel case.
“The penalty-phase requirements that McDaniel favors could be feasible policy reforms for the voters to consider; indeed, a few States have adopted similar requirements. As this Court has repeatedly recognized, however, they are not required by state or federal law,” the attorney general said in the court filing. “The Court should adhere to that legal position — on which the lower courts have relied for decades — and leave it to the electorate to amend the death penalty law if they see fit.”
McDaniel and his and his co-defendant, Kai Harris, were accused of entering an apartment in the Nickerson Gardens public housing project in April 2004, looking to settle a drug dispute. They were both sentenced to death after being convicted in the shooting deaths of 33-year-old George Brooks and Brooks’ 52-year-old cousin Annette Anderson. Two other women in the apartment were also shot but survived. One of them, Debra Johnson, later testified against the men.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Johnson called the crime “cruel and inhuman.”
Officials with the Los Angles County district attorney’s office were not available for comment. Lacey remains supportive of the death penalty, though she often says her office only seeks capital punishment in the most extreme cases involving torture or the killing of a child. That stance has become an issue as she seeks a third term in office and tries to fend off a challenge from Gascón, who has positioned himself as a criminal justice reformer while casting Lacey as out of touch with modern approaches to prosecution.
If elected, Gascón has promised he will direct prosecutors to stop seeking the death penalty in California and will work to have defendants previously sent to death row from L.A. County be resentenced to life without parole.
Times staff writer James Queally contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-10-26--Raging wildfire threatens hundreds of homes in Yorba Linda

A second brush fire ignited in Southern California amid dangerous high winds Monday , prompting evacuation orders for Yorba Linda , officials said .
The fire started in the Chino Hills area of Corona , west of the Santa Ana River , Corona Fire Department program specialist Denise Aguilar said .
The blaze was initially dubbed the Green fire , but Orange County officials are now referring to it as the Blue Ridge fire .
At least one home had burned , and flames were threatening subdivisions north of the 91 Freeway .
The fire was burning near the Green @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but it was heading west into Chino Hills and toward Yorba Linda , where officials reported the fire approaching from northeast of Bryant Ranch Park , on the east side of the city .
By late Monday night , the blaze had burned 6,600 acres , authorities said .
At the Green River Village mobile home park , Residents wandered out of their homes glancing up at the black smokes and hillsides on fire .
Watching it with his daughter was Rodrigo Suarez , 41 .
He said it was just three years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the hillsides across the 91 freeway .
He said the mobile home park wasn ’ t evacuated then and hoped it would not be this time .
Ken Leitner,71 and his wife were ready to go .
They had stuffed their vehicles with what they felt they needed : important documents , pet food and other items .
On the driveway of their stucco and tile home in Yorba Linda , they watched the yellow and brown smoke cover the sky and took bites out of their frozen chocolate ice cream .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had to deal with a brush fire on this canyon .
In 2008 , a fire swept through the area and took out nearly two dozen homes .
Leitner said he remembered using a hose to douse flames and protect his home .
The Orange County sheriff called for an immediate evacuation north of the 91 Freeway and east of Gypsum Canyon , including Bryant Ranch Elementary in Yorba Linda .
Evacuations included the Bryant Ranch School , where students were shuttled to Esperanza High School in Anaheim .
The city of Anaheim @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was estimated at 700 acres .
The National Weather Service in San Diego residents of Yorba Linda to be on “ high alert ” as the fire was being fueled by gusts of 35 to 45 mph .
The city of Anaheim tweeted that the smell of smoke had permeated the air .
Winds in Chino Hills peaked at 78 mph Monday morning around 11 a.m. , according to the National Weather Service .
Southern California Edison has in the area where the fire began .
The Silverado fire , a separate Orange @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Monday morning , had scorched 4,000 acres within a few hours , according to the Orange County Fire Authority .

An air tanker drops fire retardant on a ridge near the Green River Golf Club on Oct. 26, 2020, in Yorba Linda.
A second brush fire ignited in Southern California amid dangerous high winds Monday, prompting evacuation orders for Yorba Linda, officials said.
The fire started in the Chino Hills area of Corona, west of the Santa Ana River, Corona Fire Department program specialist Denise Aguilar said. The blaze was initially dubbed the Green fire, but Orange County officials are now referring to it as the Blue Ridge fire.
At least one home had burned, and flames were threatening subdivisions north of the 91 Freeway.
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1 / 32 Firefighters make their way up a hill through smoke Tuesday in Chino Hills. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 32 Residents watch the Blue Ridge fire from Vellano Club Drive Tuesday in Chino Hills. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 32 The sun shines through smoke in the air Tuesday in Chino Hills. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 32 A firefighting helicopter makes a drop on the Silverado fire, which has been fanned by gusty Santa Ana winds for a second day in the Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park in Lake Forest. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 32 Orange County firefighters battle Blue Ridge fire along 3700 block of San Antonio in Yorba Linda. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times) 6 / 32 Blue Ridge fire burns close to oil derricks along Aspen Avenue in Yorba Linda. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 32 A flare-up fills the sky with smoke from the Silverado fire burning in Irvine on Tuesday. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 32 An air tanker drops fire retardant behind homes Tuesday in Chino Hills. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 32 Yorba Linda residents gather around an Orange County Fire Authority vehicle at the intersection of Fairmont Boulevard and San Antonio Road, inquiring about the Blue Ridge fire that was burning close to their homes. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 32 Firefighter Raymond Vasquez fights the Silverado fire, fueled by Santa Ana winds, at the 241 Freeway and Portola Parkway in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 32 A crowd watches a hillside burn on Foxtail Drive and Lotus Avenue in Yorba Linda. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 32 A homeowner watches flames burn a hillside near Foxtail Drive and Lotus Avenue in Yorba Linda. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 32 People watch the Blue Ridge fire burn on Foxtail Drive in Yorba Linda. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 32 A hillside burns near Foxtail Drive and Lotus Avenue in Yorba Linda. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 32 A bicyclist takes a look at fire activity on Via Lomas de Yorba amid the Blue Ridge fire in Yorba Linda. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) 16 / 32 A firefighter hoses down a home in Yorba Linda that was ablaze due to the Blue Ridge fire Monday. (OnScene.TV) 17 / 32 An air tanker drops fire retardant on a ridge near the Green River Golf Club in Corona. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) 18 / 32 A hot spot flares in the Silverado fire at the 241 Freeway and Portola Parkway in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 19 / 32 A water truck operator runs through the thick smoke of the advancing Silverado fire at the 241 Freeway and Portola Parkway in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 20 / 32 Firetrucks convoy through thick smoke on Portola Parkway to battle the advancing Silverado fire. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 21 / 32 Firefighter Raymond Vasquez braves tall flames as he fights the advancing Silverado fire. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 22 / 32 Firetrucks convoy through thick smoke on the 241 Freeway to battle the advancing Silverado fire. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 23 / 32 A water truck operator is overcome after running through thick smoke from the advancing Silverado fire in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 24 / 32 An Orange County Fire Authority firefighter stands ready to defend a home as the Silverado fire approaches the Orchard Hills neighborhood of Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 25 / 32 Orange County Fire Authority firefighters defend homes as the Silverado fire approaches the Orchard Hills neighborhood of Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 26 / 32 A firefighter sustained second- and third-degree burns near Santiago Canyon Road and Limestone Spur fighting the Silverado fire and was transported to a nearby trauma center. (OnScene.TV) 27 / 32 Orange County Fire Authority firefighters have to look away because of the gusty, hot wind, debris and approaching flames while defending homes from the Silverado fire in the Orchard Hills neighborhood of Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 28 / 32 Orange County Fire Authority firefighters do structure protection for homes in the Orchard Hills neighborhood of Irvine as the Silverado fire continues to burn. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 29 / 32 The Silverado fire broke out in Orange County on Monday morning, threatening communities and forcing residents from their homes. (OnScene.TV) 30 / 32 Orange County Fire Authority firefighters monitor the Silverado fire, which is threatening communities in Irvine. (OnScene.TV) 31 / 32 A deer navigates through the smoke of the Silverado fire that broke out in Orange County on Monday morning. (OnScene.TV) 32 / 32 A wind-driven blaze, dubbed the Silverado fire, sparked around 6:45 a.m. Monday morning and is spreading at a “moderate” speed in the area of Santiago Canyon and Silverado Canyon roads in Orange County. (KTLA)
The fire was burning near the Green River Golf Club, Aguilar said, but it was heading west into Chino Hills and toward Yorba Linda, where officials reported the fire approaching from northeast of Bryant Ranch Park, on the east side of the city.
By late Monday night, the blaze had burned 6,600 acres, authorities said.
At the Green River Village mobile home park, Residents wandered out of their homes glancing up at the black smokes and hillsides on fire.
Watching it with his daughter was Rodrigo Suarez, 41. He said it was just three years ago when another fire ignited and burned the hillsides across the 91 freeway. He said the mobile home park wasn’t evacuated then and hoped it would not be this time.
Corona E5 reporting 200+ acres running towards the west, will threaten the Yorba Linda area shortly, is behind the Green River Golf Club. This new fire is the #GreenFire. https://t.co/vLbZlJJcFh — CA Fire Scanner (@CAFireScanner) October 26, 2020
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Ken Leitner,71 and his wife were ready to go. They had stuffed their vehicles with what they felt they needed: important documents, pet food and other items.
On the driveway of their stucco and tile home in Yorba Linda, they watched the yellow and brown smoke cover the sky and took bites out of their frozen chocolate ice cream.
It’s the second time the Leitners had to deal with a brush fire on this canyon.
In 2008, a fire swept through the area and took out nearly two dozen homes. Leitner said he remembered using a hose to douse flames and protect his home.
The Orange County sheriff called for an immediate evacuation north of the 91 Freeway and east of Gypsum Canyon, including Bryant Ranch Elementary in Yorba Linda. Evacuations included the Bryant Ranch School, where students were shuttled to Esperanza High School in Anaheim. The city of Anaheim tweeted around 2:30 p.m. that the fire was estimated at 700 acres.
The National Weather Service in San Diego warned residents of Yorba Linda to be on “high alert” as the fire was being fueled by gusts of 35 to 45 mph. The city of Anaheim tweeted that the smell of smoke had permeated the air.
Winds in Chino Hills peaked at 78 mph Monday morning around 11 a.m., according to the National Weather Service.
Southern California Edison has shut off power in the area where the fire began.
The Silverado fire, a separate Orange County blaze that ignited near Irvine on Monday morning, had scorched 4,000 acres within a few hours, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.


latimes--2020-10-26--Wind gusts top 90 mph, sending ash and smoke across Southern California

The strongest Santa Ana winds of the year not only fueled wildfires in Orange County but brought unhealthful air quality to parts of the Los Angeles Basin and San Gabriel Valley as ash from the Bobcat fire blew into neighborhoods .
The powerful winds , which included gusts that topped 90 mph at at least one location , toppled big rigs in the Inland Empire and forced officials to briefly close Ontario International Airport .
Dan Gregoria , meteorologist for the National Weather Service in San Diego , said gusts at the airport on Monday had clocked in as high @ @ @ @ @ @ @ expected to return early Tuesday before dying off in the afternoon , Gregoria added .
The winds fueled two big fires — in Irvine and Yorba Linda — and that sent smoke into many parts of Orange County .
But officials believe the poor air quality in Los Angeles County had a different cause .
The particles were probably from the nearly contained Bobcat fire , which has been burning for more than a month in the Angeles National Forest , a forest spokesman said .
The Bobcat fire has scorched more than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ carpeted in gray , burned flecks of brush and trees .
With winds whipping through Los Angeles County at gusts up to 60 mph , ash is being carried into East L.A. and nearby cities , Angeles National Forest spokesman Andrew Mitchell said .
“ It would be easy to extrapolate that we have a major fire of 115,000 acres , that wind blowing down from that northeast direction is going to push that [ ash ] down into the southern part of L.A. County , ” Mitchell said , adding that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He also said it ’ s possible the ash could be coming from the Dolan or El Dorado fires farther east .
Air quality in Los Angeles is suffering as a result of the particulate matter , with parts of the county in the “ unhealthy ” range , according to government tracking .
In some mountain ridges , winds are in the upper 70 mph range , with 96-mph gusts recorded in the Magic Mountain Truck Trail , according to the National Weather Service .
Powerful winds also pounded Northern California , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shut off power to about 361,000 customers in the weather-weary region .
Strong Diablo winds continued Monday in the area surrounding the Sacramento Valley , most of the Sierra , parts of southern Kern County and the mountainous regions of the Bay Area , including the Santa Cruz Mountains .
Red flag warnings are in place for most of Northern California .
A warning for the North Bay Mountains and the East Bay Hills is in place through Tuesday afternoon , according to the .
A 94-mph gust blew through part of Tahoe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ saw gusts at 89 mph , according to the weather service .
“ It ’ s been very dry , ” National Weather Service meteorologist Anna Schneider said .
“ We ’ ve been kind of lucky here .
We haven ’ t had any major fires starting overnight in our area .
But it ’ s certainly dry enough.
” A few small fires did ignite , but emergency responders were able to snuff them out before they grew , she said .
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection units for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trees in Half Moon Bay .
Once the fierce offshore winds taper off Tuesday , lower temperatures are expected to roll in , making for cooler nights in parts of the Bay Area , Schneider said .

A water truck operator runs through the thick smoke of the advancing Silverado fire at the 241 toll road and Portola Parkway in Irvine.
The strongest Santa Ana winds of the year not only fueled wildfires in Orange County but brought unhealthful air quality to parts of the Los Angeles Basin and San Gabriel Valley as ash from the Bobcat fire blew into neighborhoods.
The powerful winds, which included gusts that topped 90 mph at at least one location, toppled big rigs in the Inland Empire and forced officials to briefly close Ontario International Airport. Dan Gregoria, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in San Diego, said gusts at the airport on Monday had clocked in as high as 70 mph.
Santa Anas are expected to return early Tuesday before dying off in the afternoon, Gregoria added.
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Firefighter Raymond Vasquez fights the Silverado fire fueled by Santa Ana winds at the 241 toll road and Portola Parkway in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
The winds fueled two big fires — in Irvine and Yorba Linda — and that sent smoke into many parts of Orange County.
But officials believe the poor air quality in Los Angeles County had a different cause.
The particles were probably from the nearly contained Bobcat fire, which has been burning for more than a month in the Angeles National Forest, a forest spokesman said.
The Bobcat fire has scorched more than 115,000 acres, leaving a forest floor carpeted in gray, burned flecks of brush and trees. With winds whipping through Los Angeles County at gusts up to 60 mph, ash is being carried into East L.A. and nearby cities, Angeles National Forest spokesman Andrew Mitchell said.
“It would be easy to extrapolate that we have a major fire of 115,000 acres, that wind blowing down from that northeast direction is going to push that [ash] down into the southern part of L.A. County,” Mitchell said, adding that the Bobcat fire is 95% contained.
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He also said it’s possible the ash could be coming from the El Dorado fire farther east.
The red circles show where the Red Flag conditions are right now, and their size relates to the wind speed. #CAwx #SoCal pic.twitter.com/MoWHjTFtMD — NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) October 26, 2020
Air quality in Los Angeles is suffering as a result of the particulate matter, with parts of the county in the “unhealthy” range, according to government tracking.
California How to read and understand air quality numbers and maps Here’s how to interpret the air quality numbers you see when you look at air quality maps or readouts on smartphone weather apps.
In some mountain ridges, winds are in the upper 70 mph range, with 96-mph gusts recorded in the Magic Mountain Truck Trail, according to the National Weather Service.
Powerful winds also pounded Northern California, prompting Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to shut off power to about 361,000 customers in the weather-weary region.
Strong Diablo winds continued Monday in the area surrounding the Sacramento Valley, most of the Sierra, parts of southern Kern County and the mountainous regions of the Bay Area, including the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Anthony Bravo, 31, and his dog Kylo watch as smoke from the Silverado fire shrouds the Los Angeles skyline. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
Red flag warnings are in place for most of Northern California. A warning for the North Bay Mountains and the East Bay Hills is in place through Tuesday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service .
A 94-mph gust blew through part of Tahoe overnight, and Mt. Saint Helena saw gusts at 89 mph, according to the weather service.
“It’s been very dry,” National Weather Service meteorologist Anna Schneider said. “We’ve been kind of lucky here. We haven’t had any major fires starting overnight in our area. But it’s certainly dry enough.”
Angelina Skovlova, 13, left, and Mila Rubinstein, 15, brave the high winds at Lake Balboa Beilenson Park in Encino. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times)
A few small fires did ignite, but emergency responders were able to snuff them out before they grew, she said. California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection units for San Mateo and Santa Cruz reported downed trees in Half Moon Bay.
Once the fierce offshore winds taper off Tuesday, lower temperatures are expected to roll in, making for cooler nights in parts of the Bay Area, Schneider said.
GUST TO 96 MPH!!! Here is an areal look at the strongest gusts. Now up to 90 MPH in the mountains just south of Santa Clarita in the San Gabriel Mountains. #cawx #LAweather #SoCal pic.twitter.com/4kq1YDo0GQ — NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) October 26, 2020


latimes--2020-10-26--Orange County under siege by wildfires; 2 firefighters gravely burned

Orange County Monday was under siege from two wind-driven brush fires that forced 90,000 people from their homes , critically injuring two firefighters and leaving many others on edge .
The Silverado fire in Irvine broke out shortly after 6:45 a.m. near Santiago Canyon and Silverado Canyon roads .
The fire , which was burning in a hilly area above homes , had grown to 7,200 acres by 4:30 p.m. , officials said .
A second blaze , the Blue Ridge fire , had burned one home , threatened hundreds of others in Yorba Linda north of the 91 Freeway @ @ @ @ @ @ @ night .
The injured firefighters , 26 and 31 , were hurt battling the Silverado fire .
Both were intubated after suffering second- and third-degree burns over half their bodies , Orange County Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy said .
Additional details weren ’ t immediately available .
Fennessy said he visited the injured firefighters and their family members at Orange County Global Medical Center .
“ They ’ re gravely injured , ” he said .
“ We ’ re doing all we can for them.
” A mandatory was issued for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all homes north of Irvine Boulevard between Bake Parkway and Jamboree Road , officials said .
Homes from Irvine Boulevard to Trabuco Road and from Jeffrey Road east to Portola High School were also evacuated .
So far , no structures have been damaged or destroyed .
Evacuation centers were set up at seven locations , including Los Olivos Community Center , Harvard Community Center , Village Church of Irvine and Las Lomas Community Center in Irvine , and many were at capacity by late morning , the city said .
Highway 241 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Highway 133 .
Portola Parkway was closed between the 241 and Jamboree Road , and Santiago Canyon Road was closed from the 241 to Live Oak Canyon Road .
Monday evening , Southern California Edison said its equipment may have started the Silverado fire .
In a report to the state Public Utilities Commission , Edison said it was investigating whether its electrical equipment caused the blaze .
The brief report said it appeared that a “ lashing wire ” may have struck a primary conductor , and an investigation was underway @ @ @ @ @ @ @ company filed the mandatory report with the PUC late Monday .
A lashing wire is used to hold telecommunications cables together , he said , adding : “ SCE will cooperate fully ” with any investigators .
In the Chino Hills area of Corona , west of the Santa Ana River , the Blue Ridge fire burned 6,600 acres and damaged at least one home shortly before midnight Monday night .
The extent of the damage was being investigated .
Authorities said there were 200 firefighters combating the blaze .
Corona Fire Department @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was burning near the Green River Golf Club , but it was heading west into Chino Hills and toward Yorba Linda , where officials reported the fire approaching from northeast of Bryant Ranch Park , on the east side of the city , about 2 p.m. About 20,000 residents have been evacuated from nearby areas including the Hidden Hills community of Yorba Linda , north of the 91 Freeway , east of Gypsum Canyon and south of Carbon Canyon Road .
There was also a mandatory evacuation for some Carbon Canyon communities .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ because of the fires and high winds .
UC Irvine said it was suspending campus operations for the day because smoke and ash were making the air hazardous .
The winds were knocking over half-full trash cans and pushing them around the streets of Orchard Hills , a neighborhood in Irvine sitting in the path of fire .
Almost everyone had evacuated the neighborhood of two-story stucco homes by late morning , with the exception of one or two families who were still gathering their belongings .
Not far from Bella Garden Park @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his Lexus SUV with luggage and other personal items .
Breathing hard , he said he learned about the fire from police alerts on his phone and immediately began preparing to evacuate .
“ I ’ m feeling rushed , ” he said , running to his white Tesla before driving off .
His family , seated in the white Lexus SUV , followed behind him .
Located between the Santa Ana River and Cleveland National Forest is the Green River Village , a mobile home park that found itself in the path @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wandered out of their homes glancing up at the black smoke and hillsides on fire .
Rodrigo Suarez , 41 , who watched with his daughter , said it was just three years ago when another fire burned the hillsides across the 91 Freeway .
The mobile home park wasn ’ t evacuated then and he didn ’ t think they would need to evacuate now , Suarez said .
The fire , he said , would need to jump the river and the wind was pushing it toward Yorba Linda .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” he said .
But if things changed he had his truck ready and packed with important documents and cash .
He would just load up his dogs and leave the area with his wife and daughter , he said .
There was no word on how the fire started .
It ignited as parts of Southern California were experiencing fierce , dry Santa Ana winds , with forecasters warning that any fire that was to start could spread rapidly and be difficult to contain .
By 2 p.m. , the National @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 40 to 45 mph in the fire area .
The winds were so fierce , that water-dropping aircraft aiding the firefight had to be grounded about 10:30 a.m. “ The challenge is that the aircraft will give us that extra edge , ” Fennessy , the fire chief , said .
“ We still need to get the folks on the ground in there .
It ’ s much tougher to do without that help from above.
” “ And then combined with the really dry air , that ’ s why it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and this fast-spreading wildfire , ” said Dan Gregoria , a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Diego .
Relative humidity had plummeted to 5 % , “ which is bone-dry , ” he said .
Gregoria said the area looked to be experiencing the worst of the winds Monday afternoon , although gusty conditions were expected to persist for another four or five hours before starting to subside later in the evening .
The winds are expected to return early Tuesday before dying off in the afternoon .
Lana Salameh @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her two youngest children at school and returned home in Irvine ’ s Eastwood community when she realized the sky was a dull orange .
Trees were falling from heavy winds and smoke was seeping into the house , but she had not been informed that school was canceled .
She hustled back to grab her 9-year-old daughter , Farah Abdelbari , whose tears were soaking her pink mask at Eastwood Elementary School .
She then picked up her 11-year-old son , Omar .
“ They were scared .
It wasn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ My kids were crying , but we had to leave.
” They grabbed their passports and some bananas before arriving at Quail Hill Community Center , which was reaching capacity .
Inside , about 30 people sat at socially distanced desks while small dogs were tied to table legs .
News reports of the fire were pulled up on many of the evacuees ’ laptops , while Salameh ’ s children worked on school assignments .
Esther Lee , 55 , and dozens of others waited in the parking lot for a spot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ outside her bedroom Monday morning , the palm trees were swaying and a large plume of smoke had overtaken the nearby mountains .
Her home of 19 years along Portola Avenue in Irvine was being buffeted by smoke and wind , so she started packing .
About 9:30 a.m. , she received a mandatory evacuation notice and quickly packed important documents into her two cars .
“ We didn ’ t have much time , and I didn ’ t want to stay too long , ” Lee said .
“ We ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the winds can be so unpredictable.
” She and her husband , Jay , decided to stay put in a nearby park with their dog , Katara , until the couple ’ s family members in Lake Forest had an evacuation plan .
Fire officials weren ’ t aware of any homes that had burned but did receive a report of a fence ablaze in someone ’ s backyard , Gonzales said .
He said the windy weather , dry vegetation and steep terrain had combined to pose a challenge to firefighters .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of everything to be honest , between the high unpredictable winds — we ’ ve had reports of gusts in excess of 70 mph — of course , we have the dry brush and , as always , terrain is something we have to deal with , ” Gonzales said .
“ Now that we have aircraft grounded , it does make it a little more difficult but we have numerous resources on scene , and our goal is to control the fire and protect homes.
” Pat McGrath , 78 , was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her front door to inform her of the evacuation orders .
The Ridge Valley woman has no family on the West Coast .
“ I just panicked .
I started crying , ” McGrath said .
“ I ’ m cold , I ’ m hungry , I ’ m stressed and I don ’ t know what to do.
” Her voice was faint as she reclined into her seat at the Quail Hill Community Center with a beige cardigan draped over her .
“ I was hoping there would be food @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a bottle of water from a woman here earlier , ” she said .
“ There ’ s a fountain down the hall , but I forgot my cane and my legs don ’ t work too well .
I think your body doesn ’ t work as well when you ’ re stressed.
” It was about 8 a.m. when 24-year-old Sungho Hong was awakened by his parents .
Hong said he got up and went to look outside at the billowing , brown smoke moving over the top of the hill @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was nowhere near the community , so his parents went off to work and Hong logged into his computer for his online courses at Cal Poly Pomona .
In the middle of his political science class , he had to leave the house .
He drove his black Mercedes to the bottom of the hill .
Sitting in his car watching the flames in the distance , he felt nervous .
He also wondered about having to email his professor to let him know why he left class .
Back at the Vistas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the hillside , ready to protect homes as the blaze made its way down , threatening dozens of homes in Knob Creek , Nest Pine and Leafy Pass .
Winds from the fire contributed to a large plume of smoke over the area , and the Orange County Health Care agency was urging residents to limit outdoor activity and keep doors and windows closed .
Stanley Liu ’ s family was turned away from University Community Center shelter , which was full .
The 45-year-old , his wife and son made their way @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were asked prescreening health questions before entering .
Only a third of the room was occupied .
The family had packed two suitcases of clothes and was prepared to rent out a hotel room for the night if the evacuation order continued .
“ We were forced to stay home for months because of the coronavirus , and now we ’ re being forced to leave because of the fire , ” Liu said .
“ We didn ’ t want to leave , but it wasn ’ t our decision .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our home now.
” The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning through Tuesday afternoon amid the conditions , which also threatened tens of thousands of Edison ‘ s customers with potential power shutoffs .
The warning was in effect for all of Los Angeles and Ventura counties except for the Antelope Valley , as well as the entire Bay Area .
As of Monday evening , about 38,032 customers were without power , mostly in San Bernardino County .
An additional 95,853 remained under consideration for a preemptive shutoff , according @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Gas and Electric had said it would cut power to nearly 1 million people in Northern and Central California starting Sunday amid dangerous fire weather .
By Monday morning , more than 300,000 customers were without power .
“ We have very strong winds and very low humidities , and that ’ s causing ideal conditions for a very strong Santa Ana event with high fire danger , ” said David Sweet , a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard .
“ This is very typical for this time of year @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Wind gusts of up to 80 mph led the weather service to upgrade the San Gabriel and San Fernando valleys to high wind warning conditions , noting that a “ wave ” of winds could crash down into the foothills along the 210 Freeway corridor Monday .
The winds were even stronger in higher elevation areas , with the weather service reporting a gust of 96 mph in the San Gabriel Mountains just south of Santa Clarita about 6 a.m. Monday .
High winds led to the brief closure of Ontario International @ @ @ @ @ @ @ low humidity levels are expected to create “ the most dangerous fire weather conditions we have seen since October 2019 , ” the National Weather Service said .
Although conditions across Southern California are cooler than they have been in months — the Antelope Valley will see sub-freezing temperatures Monday and Tuesday morning — Sweet said the low humidity is still cause for concern .
“ You can be sure that the vegetation is bone-dry and tinder-dry , and so the fire threat is very high for very rapid spread of fire , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that , you ’ ve got very strong winds , which means that lit embers and ashes could be carried for miles.
” Times staff writer Andrew J. Campa and the Associated Press contributed to this report .

Ruben Vives, Stephanie Lai, Alex Wigglesworth, Hayley Smith, Faith E. Pinho, Alejandra Reyes-Velarde

The Silverado fire broke out in Orange County on Monday morning amid conditions forecasters were calling the most dangerous fire weather of the year.
Orange County Monday was under siege from two wind-driven brush fires that forced 90,000 people from their homes, critically injuring two firefighters and leaving many others on edge.
The Silverado fire in Irvine broke out shortly after 6:45 a.m. near Santiago Canyon and Silverado Canyon roads. The fire, which was burning in a hilly area above homes, had grown to 7,200 acres by 4:30 p.m., officials said. A second blaze, the Blue Ridge fire, had burned one home, threatened hundreds of others in Yorba Linda north of the 91 Freeway and scorched 6,600 acres by late Monday night.
The injured firefighters, 26 and 31, were hurt battling the Silverado fire. Both were intubated after suffering second- and third-degree burns over half their bodies, Orange County Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy said. Additional details weren’t immediately available.
Fennessy said he visited the injured firefighters and their family members at Orange County Global Medical Center.
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“They’re gravely injured,” he said. “We’re doing all we can for them.”
A mandatory evacuation order was issued for about 70,000 residents in Irvine, including all homes north of Irvine Boulevard between Bake Parkway and Jamboree Road, officials said. Homes from Irvine Boulevard to Trabuco Road and from Jeffrey Road east to Portola High School were also evacuated. So far, no structures have been damaged or destroyed.
Evacuation centers were set up at seven locations, including Los Olivos Community Center, Harvard Community Center, Village Church of Irvine and Las Lomas Community Center in Irvine, and many were at capacity by late morning, the city said.
Highway 241 was shut down from Santiago Canyon Road to Highway 133. Portola Parkway was closed between the 241 and Jamboree Road, and Santiago Canyon Road was closed from the 241 to Live Oak Canyon Road.
Monday evening, Southern California Edison said its equipment may have started the Silverado fire.
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In a report to the state Public Utilities Commission, Edison said it was investigating whether its electrical equipment caused the blaze. The brief report said it appeared that a “lashing wire” may have struck a primary conductor, and an investigation was underway.
A crowd watches a hillside burn on Foxtail Drive and Lotus Avenue in Yorba Linda. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
Edison spokesman Chris Abel said the company filed the mandatory report with the PUC late Monday. A lashing wire is used to hold telecommunications cables together, he said, adding: “SCE will cooperate fully” with any investigators.
In the Chino Hills area of Corona, west of the Santa Ana River, the Blue Ridge fire burned 6,600 acres and damaged at least one home shortly before midnight Monday night. The extent of the damage was being investigated. Authorities said there were 200 firefighters combating the blaze.
Corona Fire Department program specialist Denise Aguilar said the fire was burning near the Green River Golf Club, but it was heading west into Chino Hills and toward Yorba Linda, where officials reported the fire approaching from northeast of Bryant Ranch Park, on the east side of the city, about 2 p.m.
About 20,000 residents have been evacuated from nearby areas including the Hidden Hills community of Yorba Linda, north of the 91 Freeway, east of Gypsum Canyon and south of Carbon Canyon Road. There was also a mandatory evacuation for some Carbon Canyon communities.
In Irvine, many parks were closed because of the fires and high winds.
UC Irvine said it was suspending campus operations for the day because smoke and ash were making the air hazardous.
The winds were knocking over half-full trash cans and pushing them around the streets of Orchard Hills, a neighborhood in Irvine sitting in the path of fire.
Almost everyone had evacuated the neighborhood of two-story stucco homes by late morning, with the exception of one or two families who were still gathering their belongings.
Not far from Bella Garden Park, Raymond Siu, 44, stuffed his Lexus SUV with luggage and other personal items. Breathing hard, he said he learned about the fire from police alerts on his phone and immediately began preparing to evacuate.
“I’m feeling rushed,” he said, running to his white Tesla before driving off.
A water truck operator runs through the thick smoke of the advancing Silverado fire at the 241 toll road and Portola Parkway in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
His family, seated in the white Lexus SUV, followed behind him.
Located between the Santa Ana River and Cleveland National Forest is the Green River Village, a mobile home park that found itself in the path of the Blue Ridge fire.
Residents wandered out of their homes glancing up at the black smoke and hillsides on fire.
Rodrigo Suarez, 41, who watched with his daughter, said it was just three years ago when another fire burned the hillsides across the 91 Freeway.
The mobile home park wasn’t evacuated then and he didn’t think they would need to evacuate now, Suarez said. The fire, he said, would need to jump the river and the wind was pushing it toward Yorba Linda.
“I feel nothing is going to happen,” he said.
But if things changed he had his truck ready and packed with important documents and cash. He would just load up his dogs and leave the area with his wife and daughter, he said.
Firefighter Raymond Vasquez fights the Silverado fire fueled by Santa Ana winds at the 241 toll road and Portola Parkway in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
There was no word on how the fire started. It ignited as parts of Southern California were experiencing fierce, dry Santa Ana winds, with forecasters warning that any fire that was to start could spread rapidly and be difficult to contain.
By 2 p.m., the National Weather Service was measuring wind gusts of 40 to 45 mph in the fire area. The winds were so fierce, that water-dropping aircraft aiding the firefight had to be grounded about 10:30 a.m.
“The challenge is that the aircraft will give us that extra edge,” Fennessy, the fire chief, said. “We still need to get the folks on the ground in there. It’s much tougher to do without that help from above.”
“And then combined with the really dry air, that’s why it’s creating these critical fire conditions and this fast-spreading wildfire,” said Dan Gregoria, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Diego.
Relative humidity had plummeted to 5%, “which is bone-dry,” he said.
Gregoria said the area looked to be experiencing the worst of the winds Monday afternoon, although gusty conditions were expected to persist for another four or five hours before starting to subside later in the evening. The winds are expected to return early Tuesday before dying off in the afternoon.
A firefighter sustained 2nd and 3rd degree burns near Santiago Canyon Rd. &Limestone Spur fighting the Silverado fire. (OnScene.TV)
Lana Salameh, 45, had just dropped off her two youngest children at school and returned home in Irvine’s Eastwood community when she realized the sky was a dull orange. Trees were falling from heavy winds and smoke was seeping into the house, but she had not been informed that school was canceled.
She hustled back to grab her 9-year-old daughter, Farah Abdelbari, whose tears were soaking her pink mask at Eastwood Elementary School. She then picked up her 11-year-old son, Omar.
“They were scared. It wasn’t easy,” Salameh said. “My kids were crying, but we had to leave.”
They grabbed their passports and some bananas before arriving at Quail Hill Community Center, which was reaching capacity.
Inside, about 30 people sat at socially distanced desks while small dogs were tied to table legs. News reports of the fire were pulled up on many of the evacuees’ laptops, while Salameh’s children worked on school assignments.
Esther Lee, 55, and dozens of others waited in the parking lot for a spot to open inside.
When Lee looked outside her bedroom Monday morning, the palm trees were swaying and a large plume of smoke had overtaken the nearby mountains.
Her home of 19 years along Portola Avenue in Irvine was being buffeted by smoke and wind, so she started packing.
About 9:30 a.m., she received a mandatory evacuation notice and quickly packed important documents into her two cars.
“We didn’t have much time, and I didn’t want to stay too long,” Lee said. “We’re just staying put for now because the winds can be so unpredictable.”
She and her husband, Jay, decided to stay put in a nearby park with their dog, Katara, until the couple’s family members in Lake Forest had an evacuation plan.
Fire officials weren’t aware of any homes that had burned but did receive a report of a fence ablaze in someone’s backyard, Gonzales said. He said the windy weather, dry vegetation and steep terrain had combined to pose a challenge to firefighters.
“It’s a little bit of everything to be honest, between the high unpredictable winds — we’ve had reports of gusts in excess of 70 mph — of course, we have the dry brush and, as always, terrain is something we have to deal with,” Gonzales said. “Now that we have aircraft grounded, it does make it a little more difficult but we have numerous resources on scene, and our goal is to control the fire and protect homes.”
Pat McGrath, 78, was making breakfast when a stranger pounded on her front door to inform her of the evacuation orders. The Ridge Valley woman has no family on the West Coast.
“I just panicked. I started crying,” McGrath said. “I’m cold, I’m hungry, I’m stressed and I don’t know what to do.”
Her voice was faint as she reclined into her seat at the Quail Hill Community Center with a beige cardigan draped over her.
“I was hoping there would be food or water, but I only got a bottle of water from a woman here earlier,” she said. “There’s a fountain down the hall, but I forgot my cane and my legs don’t work too well. I think your body doesn’t work as well when you’re stressed.”
It was about 8 a.m. when 24-year-old Sungho Hong was awakened by his parents. Hong said he got up and went to look outside at the billowing, brown smoke moving over the top of the hill behind their home.
But the fire was nowhere near the community, so his parents went off to work and Hong logged into his computer for his online courses at Cal Poly Pomona.
In the middle of his political science class, he had to leave the house. He drove his black Mercedes to the bottom of the hill. Sitting in his car watching the flames in the distance, he felt nervous. He also wondered about having to email his professor to let him know why he left class.
Back at the Vistas, firetrucks and firefighters were stationed along the hillside, ready to protect homes as the blaze made its way down, threatening dozens of homes in Knob Creek, Nest Pine and Leafy Pass.
Winds from the fire contributed to a large plume of smoke over the area, and the Orange County Health Care agency was urging residents to limit outdoor activity and keep doors and windows closed.
Stanley Liu’s family was turned away from University Community Center shelter, which was full.
The 45-year-old, his wife and son made their way to Rancho Senior Center, where they were asked prescreening health questions before entering. Only a third of the room was occupied.
The family had packed two suitcases of clothes and was prepared to rent out a hotel room for the night if the evacuation order continued.
“We were forced to stay home for months because of the coronavirus, and now we’re being forced to leave because of the fire,” Liu said. “We didn’t want to leave, but it wasn’t our decision. We’re worried about our safety and our home now.”
The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning through Tuesday afternoon amid the conditions, which also threatened tens of thousands of Edison‘s customers with potential power shutoffs. The warning was in effect for all of Los Angeles and Ventura counties except for the Antelope Valley, as well as the entire Bay Area.
As of Monday evening, about 38,032 customers were without power, mostly in San Bernardino County. An additional 95,853 remained under consideration for a preemptive shutoff, according to Edison’s website.
Pacific Gas and Electric had said it would cut power to nearly 1 million people in Northern and Central California starting Sunday amid dangerous fire weather. By Monday morning, more than 300,000 customers were without power.
“We have very strong winds and very low humidities, and that’s causing ideal conditions for a very strong Santa Ana event with high fire danger,” said David Sweet, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. “This is very typical for this time of year, but this one is very strong.”
Wind gusts of up to 80 mph led the weather service to upgrade the San Gabriel and San Fernando valleys to high wind warning conditions, noting that a “wave” of winds could crash down into the foothills along the 210 Freeway corridor Monday.
The winds were even stronger in higher elevation areas, with the weather service reporting a gust of 96 mph in the San Gabriel Mountains just south of Santa Clarita about 6 a.m. Monday.
High winds led to the brief closure of Ontario International Airport.
The combination of winds and low humidity levels are expected to create “the most dangerous fire weather conditions we have seen since October 2019,” the National Weather Service said.
Although conditions across Southern California are cooler than they have been in months — the Antelope Valley will see sub-freezing temperatures Monday and Tuesday morning — Sweet said the low humidity is still cause for concern.
“You can be sure that the vegetation is bone-dry and tinder-dry, and so the fire threat is very high for very rapid spread of fire,” Sweet said. “Along with that, you’ve got very strong winds, which means that lit embers and ashes could be carried for miles.”
Times staff writer Andrew J. Campa and the Associated Press contributed to this report.