Crime & Safety
UPDATE: Brush Fire Closes Ortega Highway at County Line
Two thousand acres have burned and mandatory evacuations are underway in several areas.
Written by Toni McAllister
Tuesday 11:30 a.m. UPDATE: A braying burro and nine evacuated horses have found refuge at a San Juan Capistrano equestrian center.
Tuesday 9:45 a.m. UPDATE: The Ortega Highway remains closed from Antonio Parkway in San Juan Capistrano to Grand Avenue in Lake Elsinore, according to a press release issued Tuesday by San Juan officials.
UPDATED at 8:30 p.m. Monday: The Falls Fire burning at Lake Elsinore's doorstep has now scorched nearly 2,000 acres, closed various roads and led to evacuations in several areas.
Road closures include the Ortega Highway from the Orange County line to Grand Avenue in Lake Elsinore, Riverside Drive at Lakeshore Drive, Riverside Drive at La Laguna and Machado at Grand Avenue, according to Lake Elsinore city spokeswoman Nicole Daley. In Lakeland Village, Grand Avenue from the Ortega to Corydon remains closed.
Lake Elsinore has set up a webpage where residents can go for fire updates.
Evacuations have been ordered throughout unincorporated areas.
"Lakeland Village is under mandatory evacuation," U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Vickie Wright said late Monday afternoon. "The flames are right in their backyard."
UPDATED at 6:06 p.m.: The Falls Fire burning west of Lake Elsinore near the Ortega Highway has now scorched 800 acres, Ortega Highway is not passable in some areas due to flames across the road, and the blaze is moving toward Lakeland Village, according to the California Highway Patrol.
An emergency operations center is being established in Lake Elsinore, according to Nicole Daley, a spokeswoman for the city.
UPDATED at 2:54 p.m.: The Falls Fire burning west of Lake Elsinore near the Ortega Highway has now scorched 175 acres and evacuations were underway Monday, officials said.
The Ortega Highway was closed at the county line, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The blaze reported at 10 a.m. Monday in Morrell Canyon has spread to Decker Canyon, where mandatory evacuations are underway, Jake Rodriguez, spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service reported at 2:15 p.m.
USFS spokeswoman Vickie Wright confirmed mandatory evacuations were also underway in the Rancho Capistrano community. The area contains at least 50 ranches, she said.
El Cariso Village was not under evacuation orders, Rodriguez said.
The blaze was burning south of the Ortega, about 5 miles west of Lake Elsinore.
Winds were blowing out of the west at 5 mph, but Wright said the breeze was expected to shift as the afternoon wears on.
The blaze has the potential to burn at least 500 acres, she said.
According to the CHP, the Ortega Highway was closed at the Orange County line and only residents were being allowed through. The highway was also closed at Grand Avenue in Lake Elsinore, with only residents and emergency vehicles being allowed up.
Although the Forest Service and Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department officials were the central command on the fire, several agencies were working on the firefighting efforts, including the Orange County Fire Authority and the Corona Fire Department, as well as other state and local agencies. The Riverside County Sheriff's Department is assisting with evacuations, Rodriguez said.
Closures include the El Cariso Campground off El Cariso and Main Divide roads, the El Cariso south picnic area, the Wildomar Off-Highway Vehicle Area and the California Wildland Firefighter Memorial.
Rodriguez said 20 engine crews and six inmate hand crews, backed by six air tankers and three water-dropping helicopters, were working to contain the wildfire.
Water was being pulled from Lake Elsinore via helicopters, and a staging area was being used near the lake.
"We have pretty decent access right now,'' Rodriguez said. "The winds are picking up a little bit, so we have to watch that.''
He described the brush as "medium.'' It was too early for containment projections, Rodriguez said.
Tuesday 11:30 a.m. UPDATE: A braying burro and nine evacuated horses have found refuge at a San Juan Capistrano equestrian center.
Tuesday 9:45 a.m. UPDATE: The Ortega Highway remains closed from Antonio Parkway in San Juan Capistrano to Grand Avenue in Lake Elsinore, according to a press release issued Tuesday by San Juan officials.
UPDATED at 8:30 p.m. Monday: The Falls Fire burning at Lake Elsinore's doorstep has now scorched nearly 2,000 acres, closed various roads and led to evacuations in several areas.
Road closures include the Ortega Highway from the Orange County line to Grand Avenue in Lake Elsinore, Riverside Drive at Lakeshore Drive, Riverside Drive at La Laguna and Machado at Grand Avenue, according to Lake Elsinore city spokeswoman Nicole Daley. In Lakeland Village, Grand Avenue from the Ortega to Corydon remains closed.
Lake Elsinore has set up a webpage where residents can go for fire updates.
Evacuations have been ordered throughout unincorporated areas.
"Lakeland Village is under mandatory evacuation," U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Vickie Wright said late Monday afternoon. "The flames are right in their backyard."
UPDATED at 6:06 p.m.: The Falls Fire burning west of Lake Elsinore near the Ortega Highway has now scorched 800 acres, Ortega Highway is not passable in some areas due to flames across the road, and the blaze is moving toward Lakeland Village, according to the California Highway Patrol.
An emergency operations center is being established in Lake Elsinore, according to Nicole Daley, a spokeswoman for the city.
UPDATED at 2:54 p.m.: The Falls Fire burning west of Lake Elsinore near the Ortega Highway has now scorched 175 acres and evacuations were underway Monday, officials said.
The Ortega Highway was closed at the county line, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The blaze reported at 10 a.m. Monday in Morrell Canyon has spread to Decker Canyon, where mandatory evacuations are underway, Jake Rodriguez, spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service reported at 2:15 p.m.
USFS spokeswoman Vickie Wright confirmed mandatory evacuations were also underway in the Rancho Capistrano community. The area contains at least 50 ranches, she said.
El Cariso Village was not under evacuation orders, Rodriguez said.
The blaze was burning south of the Ortega, about 5 miles west of Lake Elsinore.
Winds were blowing out of the west at 5 mph, but Wright said the breeze was expected to shift as the afternoon wears on.
The blaze has the potential to burn at least 500 acres, she said.
According to the CHP, the Ortega Highway was closed at the Orange County line and only residents were being allowed through. The highway was also closed at Grand Avenue in Lake Elsinore, with only residents and emergency vehicles being allowed up.
Although the Forest Service and Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department officials were the central command on the fire, several agencies were working on the firefighting efforts, including the Orange County Fire Authority and the Corona Fire Department, as well as other state and local agencies. The Riverside County Sheriff's Department is assisting with evacuations, Rodriguez said.
Closures include the El Cariso Campground off El Cariso and Main Divide roads, the El Cariso south picnic area, the Wildomar Off-Highway Vehicle Area and the California Wildland Firefighter Memorial.
Rodriguez said 20 engine crews and six inmate hand crews, backed by six air tankers and three water-dropping helicopters, were working to contain the wildfire.
Water was being pulled from Lake Elsinore via helicopters, and a staging area was being used near the lake.
"We have pretty decent access right now,'' Rodriguez said. "The winds are picking up a little bit, so we have to watch that.''
He described the brush as "medium.'' It was too early for containment projections, Rodriguez said.
Flames became visible to Lake Elsinore residents as the blaze licked the mountain ridges.
According to a California Highway Patrol update, the fire was burning south, away from Ortega Highway, toward the Main Divide.
According to a U.S.F.S. webpage, portions of Morrell Canyon are characterized by "oak woodlands, large boulders and grassy areas shaded by large oak trees."
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The cause of the fire remained under investigation.
Check back for updates.
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