Norte Fire burns coastal homes, forces thousands to evacuate

A wind-driven wildfire swept from San Clemente into neighboring San Juan Capistrano on Friday, burning coastal homes and forcing about 16,000 Orange County residents to evacuate as firefighters fought flames from the ground and air.

At least six homes were damaged or destroyed in the San Juan Capistrano area. The Orange County Fire Authority said the Norte Fire had burned about 465 acres; by Friday evening, California’s Cal Fire agency put the area at about 570 acres. Authorities had not said what started the blaze.

About 6,000 homes were under evacuation orders by the evening, Al Jazeera reported. Shelters opened in both cities. Black smoke rose over neighborhoods with tennis courts and swimming pools as firefighters doused burning properties. Some homeowners sprayed water on their homes before leaving.

Two firefighters were taken to a hospital with heat-related injuries, officials told NPR. The fire authority said crews were “aggressively attacking the fire from the ground and air” and urged people to stay clear of the area.

“Had these winds been a little bit stronger, a little bit different direction, this could have been a whole lot worse,” San Clemente Mayor Rick Loeffler said.

Howard Hart, a San Juan Capistrano councilmember, said he and his wife watered their roof and moved propane tanks away from their home before evacuating with a to-go bag. His wife, Laura, said she had never had to leave because of fire in more than five decades in the community.

“This doesn’t usually happen to us, we usually see it on the news,” she said. “We always pray to God it’s not us, but yeah, it was today.”

The Norte Fire was among several blazes in Southern California fueled by Santa Ana winds, warm, dry gusts that blow toward the coast. Forecasters reported coastal winds of 35 to 55 mph, Al Jazeera said. The strongest winds were expected to ease after Friday, but conditions that heighten fire risk were forecast to last through Saturday night. The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory for the Orange and San Diego county coasts through 8 p.m. Saturday.

Nine schools in San Juan Capistrano closed Friday, according to the Capistrano Unified School District. In nearby Dana Point, Shannon Needham, who was visiting her mother at an assisted living facility, said its director had two buses on standby in case residents needed to leave.

“You could hear the fire trucks, you could hear the helicopters and everything above,” Needham said. “And it was so smoky, it was just dark smoke.”

Power shutoffs also affected the state. More than 118,000 California customers were without electricity Friday, NPR reported, citing poweroutage.com. Al Jazeera reported that tens of thousands in Los Angeles County lost power as authorities sought to reduce the risk of wind-blown electrical sparks.

Firefighters were battling other blazes, too. Al Jazeera reported that the Bryson Fire near Malibu had burned about 147 acres and was 17% contained Friday, while the Henderson Fire in San Diego County had burned 2,080 acres and was 20% contained. The Henderson Fire affected Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton and prompted freeway closures, the outlet reported. NPR said a fire near the base closed a stretch of Interstate 5 for hours, adding hours to some commutes.