Fossil Fire In Irvine Fully Contained Very Quickly -- For Very Good Reason
IRVINE (CBSLA) -- A small brush fire that broke out in Irvine Sunday afternoon was quickly contained.
It helped firefighters that the fire broke out about 500 feet from a fire station.
CBS2/KCAL9's Jeff Nguyen said the firefighters were also aided by the fact winds were not strong in the area.
In all, the blaze burned about 16 acres near the 405 Freeway and Sand Canyon.
At one point, flames got close to the Quail Hill trail head.
"In the beginning, I heard a lot of choppers," said nearby resident Tim Hsueh.
He said he was never concerned the fire would get out of control as there were four water-dropping choppers also working on the blaze.
The Public Information Officer for the OCFA tweeted video of one of the choppers dropping water from an inside-the-chopper view.
"They were able to make quick work of the fire," said Capt. Paul Holaday with the Orange County Fire Authority. "And our ground crews were able to follow up and mop it up."
The fire started a stone's throw from Station 47.
"There were never any structures threatened by this fire," says Holaday, "The closest structure was actually Fire Station 47 right behind me. The fire got within 200 yards from the fire station."
Both the OCFA and Irvine Police launched drones to map the firefight from the sky.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
