By Brooke Mallory, OAN Staff
Wednesday, September 11, 2024 9:02 AM
In sweltering heat with temperatures reaching triple digits, firefighters and National Guard troops were battling to contain three massive wildfires raging across Southern California on Tuesday, with officials reporting the fires continued to threaten thousands of homes.
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Officials say extremely dry vegetation is fueling the rapidly growing Airport Fire in Orange County, the Bridge Fire in Los Angeles County and the Line Fire in San Bernardino County.
Homes and businesses were among the “65,600 structures” that Cal Fire said were at risk from the Rhine Fire as of Tuesday afternoon.
By Monday night, firefighters had contained the blaze to less than 5 percent, and Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) had activated the California National Guard to help with ongoing firefighting efforts.
“We are aggressively committing resources to this incident, including deploying increased air and ground support through the California National Guard,” Newsom said in a statement. “This is in addition to the approximately 2,000 firefighters, nearly 200 fire engines, and aviation assets we have already deployed to fight these fires. California stands with these communities and supports them.”
Newsom said the California National Guard will be assisting with the ongoing response to the Line Fire, whose cause is still under investigation. “80 soldiers, one military police company and four teams of 20 people” have been sent to the scene to help the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department with traffic control in the evacuation zone.
Newsom said the National Guard is utilizing a variety of resources, including two C-130 planes equipped with modular aerial firefighting systems and four UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters for bucket-dropping water missions.
“Strong winds are expected Tuesday, which could aid fire spread and help detect the fire over longer distances. Cooler conditions midweek could help ease fire activity and increase fuel moisture,” Cal Fire said.
A large fire broke out in unincorporated areas of Southern California's Orange County on Monday afternoon, forcing the evacuations of 1,427 homes, according to Cal Fire. By Tuesday afternoon, the fast-spreading Airport Fire in Trabuco Canyon in the foothills southeast of Irvine had burned 9,333 acres, according to Cal Fire.
Cal Fire said the fire was “0% controlled” as of Tuesday afternoon.
At a news conference late Tuesday afternoon, officials said 1,400 homes in Robinson Ranch in Rancho Santa Margarita needed to be evacuated as the fire spread south and approached areas including Lake Elsinore and Dove Canyon.
Air and ground firefighting efforts are expected to continue through the night, depending on weather and fire conditions.
Rancho Santa Margarita Mayor Carol Gamble stressed that the safety of lives comes first, with protecting property second, and urged local residents to follow evacuation orders.
Authorities reported that at least four people had to be rescued and flown to safety, including a couple who had been hiking a nearby trail with their 3-year-old child. Authorities reported that a man and his animals were also flown to safety from his home.
Officials said the fire was threatening numerous emergency communications towers on Santiago Peak within the fire area, as well as a communications tower operated by a nearby media station.
“This fire has been classified as unintentional,” Orange County Fire Department Deputy Chief TJ McGovern said in a statement.
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