Airport Fire's growth stopped as containment rises, over 100 Southern California homes lost
The Airport Fire, which injured 21 people and destroyed more than 110 homes in two Southern California counties, stopped spreading this week as firefighters continue to make progress on containment of the blaze.
It started on Sept. 9 at about 1:20 p.m. in Orange County's Trabuco Canyon and spread to nearly 2,000 acres by the following morning, according to Cal Fire, or the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. By later that night, just before 11:30 p.m., it had exploded to almost 10 times that size — reaching an estimated 19,028 acres by then.
Authorities have said it was unintentionally started by public works crews in the area.
Firefighters have managed to get the containment of the fire up in recent days. As of Monday morning, it is still 23,526 acres and 89% contained. Crews said that they anticipated to have full containment by Tuesday.
Earlier this week, an Orange County Fire Authority crew that had just finished a 12-hour shift battling the fire got into a fire truck crash that left eight of them injured, half of them remaining hospitalized with two in critical condition by the following evening. The handcrew had been battling the Airport Fire since it first broke out, OCFA Chief Brian Hennessey said.
On Saturday, authorities said 21 people have been wounded in the wildfire including 19 firefighters and two civilians, one of whom suffered burn-related injuries.
So far, 160 structures have been destroyed and another 34 damaged — including 119 homes in Orange and Riverside counties, according to fire officials. That includes 82 homes in Orange County and 37 in Riverside County.
"I don't have nowhere to go," James said. "I got less than $100 in my pocket."
Winds carried the wildfire east into Riverside County as mandatory evacuations were issued and entire communities fled. Dry, hot weather complicated firefighting efforts as the blaze grew. On Sept. 14, less than a week after it started, its spread was stopped by firefighters as it was reported at 23,519 acres and has not changed in size since then, and its containment continues to go up.
The Airport Fire was one of three major wildfires tearing through Southern California communities this month including the Line Fire in San Bernardino County and the Bridge Fire in LA and San Bernardino counties. Combined, the three torched more than 100,000 acres and forced thousands of evacuations throughout the region, stretching firefighting resources so thin that out of state assistance had to be called in.