Got a call from the Reb: the scariest fire yet, she said; everything on fire in this hellish wind. Their power had been cut; in darkness, they were informed by neighbors about the evacuation order. They were already evacuated, by the time they called, standing in a Mission Viejo parking lot worrying, with friends.
Woke up to better news: the winds were dying down. No direct threat (to us, in Live Oak Cyn) for now, given the winds (moving to the Southwest, towards Loma Ridge). Under voluntary evacuation orders since last night. Still today. No appreciable winds, though; not here.
In late afternoon, we were informed that our power would be cut some time in the next 24 hours. So I'll be out of commission as a blogger at that point. In communicado (lack of cell coverage) and nervous. Thank God for car radios and candles.
All is well here, so far, however. The Reb and fam got to their cabin a hundred miles to the north. Their Modjeska home is likely OK for now. We're waiting for the dust to settle, find out what's happened exactly. Still don't know.
It's been quite a year. And the craziness promises to continue. (5:00 p.m., 12-3-20)
—Voice of OC
Article last updated at 11:31 a.m.
Evacuation zones for the rapidly-growing Bond Fire are being expanded to thousands of residents in communities near Orange County’s inland canyons, as the county’s third major wildfire of the season burns south from Silverado.
Officials announced mandatory evacuations mid-Thursday morning in the north Lake Forest communities of Portola Hills and Barrego Canyon, and evacuation warnings in nearby communities, including Trabuco Canyon.
Voluntary evacuation warnings also were issued for the North Tustin communities of Lemon Heights and Cowan Heights, as well as the northern Irvine neighborhood of Orchard Hills. That’s in addition to existing evacuation orders in the canyon communities of Silverado and Modjeska Canyon.
The fire spread rapidly overnight amid high winds, with 7,200 acres burned and 0% containment as of noon as hundreds of firefighters continued to battle the blaze. Multiple buildings are reported to have burned in the fire, which reportedly started as a structure fire.
“We have received reports that there may be multiple structures damaged from the fire. We are in the process of verifying the number involved and the extent of damage,” Orange County Fire Authority officials said via Twitter Thursday morning….
It’s the second time in two months that a wildfire in Orange County’s residents are being urged to evacuate the inland canyons and nearby communities as a quickly-growing wildfire rages in the canyons....
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| Areas of evacuation |
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| Actual fire area; see dot, bottom right; that's us |
