Multiple homes destroyed as some evacuation orders are lifted despite red flag warnings for several neighborhoods
AS of Friday, Dec. 4, firefighters continue to battle a wind-caused wildfire in Silverado Canyon in Orange County, California that has so far burned through 6,400 acres, forcing tens of thousands of residents to evacuate.
According to Orange County Fire Authority, just 10% of the Bond fire has been contained.
“Firefighters worked through the night extinguishing hot spots, mopping up around structures and stopping the forward spread of this fire,” said OC Fire Authority Captain Paul Holaday in a video posted to Twitter on Friday.
Mandatory and voluntary evacuations were ordered for many of the neighborhoods near the city of Lake Forest with about 25,000 residents evacuated this week as the fire continued to spread. On Friday, evacuation orders were lifted in Lake Forest east of the 241 Freeway north of Alton Parkway.
About 500 firefighters have been deployed fighting the blaze and two firefighters from the U.S. Forest Service have been injured, according to authorities.
Holaday confirmed that ground units were focusing on the neighborhoods of Santiago, Silverado, Williams and Modjeska.
Santa Ana winds decreased on Friday, but region-wide warnings were put in place for the weekend. Although the exact number is unknown, several homes have been destroyed, the OC Fire Authority reported.
The Bond fire began on the evening of Wednesday, Dec. 2 due to a house fire that occurred on the 29400 block of Silverado Canyon Road, fire officials reported. The fire scattered to a nearby brush that grew into a wildfire that spanned 10 square miles and caused harmful air conditions.
Wednesday’s fire is near the site of the Silverado Fire that spread in October, which also forced thousands of evacuations.
The Bond fire is the latest of the worst fire season in California. As of press time, more than 4 million acres have been scorched throughout the state, and six of the fires this season were among the top 20 most destructive in California’s history.
